Debbie Mucarsel-Powell claims momentum after series of tight polls

With the General Election season underway, Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s campaign claims momentum is on its side.

Citing a series of polls showing Mucarsel-Powell within reach of Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a campaign memo released by the campaign said it has built a network of support quickly.

“As public polling shows an increasingly competitive race in Florida, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell continues to gain grassroots momentum against Rick Scott, who is historically unpopular and will face a highly motivated Democratic electorate this November,” wrote Campaign Manager Ben Waldon.

The memo cites three public polls, all of which still show Scott leading by slim margins. That includes a Clean and Prosperous Energy poll showing Scott up three percentage points and a Florida Atlantic University poll and University of North Florida poll both showing Scott up by four.

More recently, the memo points to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll that puts Scott’s favorability ratings underwater by 14 percentage points.

But it also noted Scott has a history of winning close elections.

“Despite self-funding his races at historic levels, Rick Scott has never won an election in Florida by more than 1% – including in Republican wave years of 2010 and 2014,” Waldon wrote.

“After spending $64 million of his own money in 2018, Scott barely scraped a win of 10,000 votes after having to undergo a recount. After 14 years representing Florida statewide, 237,534 Republicans voted against Scott in the August 2024 primary – more than all three of Scott’s previous margins of victory in Florida combined.”

Waldon also lays out a strategy to amplify Scott’s controversial “Rescue America” proposal released in 2022. The campaign also hopes Democrats see a voter participation boost from amendments on the Florida ballot that would, if approved, legalize recreational marijuana and restore abortion rights.

“This election marks the first time that Scott is running since he wrote the plan to end Social Security and Medicare as we know them, proposed raising taxes on the middle class, and wholeheartedly embraced Florida’s abortion ban with no real exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother,” the memo states.

“With highly popular ballot initiatives for abortion and marijuana on the ballot this November and with a presidential race on the ticket with Scott for the very first time, this election will mark the first time Scott is facing a highly motivated and energized Democratic electorate in Florida.”

The campaign also said it has built up infrastructure on its way to winning the Democratic Primary for Senate.

“Since the Florida U.S. Senate primary, the Debbie Mucarsel-Powell campaign has expanded to include 12,300 first-time donors to the campaign with donations from every congressional district across Florida,” the memo states. “Since launching, the campaign has built a grassroots movement that includes nearly 200,000 total donors.

“In the lead up to the primary election, the campaign reached over 1 million Florida voters via volunteer text bank and continues to see a steady increase in volunteer sign-ups to knock doors, phone bank, and text Floridians to get out the vote for Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.”