Debbie Mucarsel-Powell launches women’s coalition

The likely Democratic nominee in this year’s Senate race is counting on support from women in her November clash with incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s “Women for Debbie” group launched on a Zoom call with press, with advocates from various levels of government singing her praises and the candidate lauding her backers as “breaking barrier after barrier, defying societal norms.”

Mucarsel-Powell added that she would “stand beside these women in solidarity fighting for our freedom.”

U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel predicted that the Democrat was going to be the “sleeper win” of the election, painting Scott as an opponent on issues that matter to women.

“He’s a no on access to reproductive freedom because he’s no on abortion. He’s a no on IVF. All these things that he’s had an opportunity to vote for, he’s been a no,” Frankel said.

State Rep. Marie Woodson delivered a personal testimonial.

“This is a woman that I have known for a long time. And when she tells you something, you better take it to the bank because she walks the walk and talks the talk,” the South Florida legislator commented.

During her time in Congress, she proved herself to be a great leader, a consensus leader, someone who truly cares about everyone. Up to this day, my daughter is calling her auntie Debbie because of the way she took care of her when she was in D.C.”

Miami Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins offered similar remarks, saying Mucarsel-Powell “cares about each and every one of us as an individual.”

“She will fight for us as girls, she will fight for us as women and she will fight for those of us that are women in elected office that are trying to make sure that Florida is green and clean and has an ability to move around with transportation. This is the total package we have in making sure that we deliver Debbie Mucarsel Powell to the Senate,” Higgins added.

Mucarsel-Powell seeks to win despite Republicans outnumbering Democrats by roughly 1 million voters in the state.

Her fundraising has demonstrated some strength, with nearly $5 million raised in Q2 2024. In this context, it’s likely that Scott taps into his own personal wealth, as he did when he spent more than $63 million in his first Senate race in 2018 and $75 million in his 2010 Governor’s race.

Polling of a potential race between Mucarsel-Powell and Scott has been all over the place.

In a survey released by Florida Atlantic University, she’s just 2 points back among likely voters, 45% to 43%.

That June poll presented a marked contrast to a previous poll by the same outfit that showed a 16-point race, and with a Florida Chamber of Commerce poll that showed a 15-point gap earlier this Summer.