Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Sen. Marco Rubio cleared the first hurdle to re-election Tuesday.
The Miami Republican easily defeated Carlos Beruff, a Manatee County homebuilder, in the Republican U.S. Senate primary. According to preliminary election results, Rubio received 71 percent of the vote. Beruff received 19 percent.
“Marco has lived the American dream and will never stop working to make sure that opportunity is available for every Florida family,” said Roger F. Wicker, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. His work ethic and positive vision for Florida and America stand in stark contrast to Privileged Patrick Murphy, who has been exposed for repeating falsehood on falsehood about every aspect of his professional life prior to his career in politics. I look forward to having Marco Rubio as a leader in our party and our Republican Majority for years to come.”
The victory comes just six months after Rubio faced a devastating loss in his home state. Rubio ended his 2016 presidential bid after coming in second to Donald Trump in the March 15 presidential preference primary.
He returned to the U.S. Senate, and spent weeks brushing off calls and questions about whether he was going to run for re-election. That ended in June when, just days before the end of the qualifying period, Rubio announced he was running again.
“No matter who wins the White House, we need a strong group of principled, persuasive leaders in Congress who will not only advance limited government, free enterprise and a strong national defense, but also explain to Americans how it makes life better for them and their families,” he said in a June 22 statement announcing his decision. “I ultimately changed my mind about this race because on that front, and in that fight, I believe I have something to offer.”
Rubio’s decision to run for re-election cleared the field, leaving Beruff as his only challenger. Rubio was the clear frontrunner from the moment he got into the race, leading by double-digits in most polls.
That didn’t immediately deter Beruff, though. The Manatee County Republican loaned his campaign more than $8 million through Aug. 10. He threw jabs at Rubio for his attendance in the Senate, and criticized him for his tepid support of Trump.
But Beruff failed to gain traction, and in recent weeks he pulled back on advertising and appeared to keep a lower profile.
Meanwhile, Rubio campaigned throughout the state, focused primarily on the November general election. During two stops in Lee County leading up to the primary, Rubio didn’t mention his own Republican primary, telling reporters his team was “very confident.”
“Obviously we worked very hard and we feel good about tomorrow, and we’ll see what voters decide,” he told reporters on Monday. “But no matter what, we’ve got to win in November — and that’s true across the ballot, so I thought today was a good day to kind of focus on November and what’s at stake.”
While the primary was a breeze, recent polls show the general election could be tough. Rubio will face Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Treasure Coast Democrat, in November. Polls show the general election will be a close race, with a recent Quinnipiac University poll showing Rubio led Murphy 48 percent to 45 percent.
