Debbie Mucarsel-Powell enjoys 2-to-1 cash edge on Rick Scott after bullish quarter

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is holding her own money-wise against the Senate's richest member.

New reports show Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell outraised Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott more than 3-to-1 in the third quarter. But will that be enough to overcome a voter registration disadvantage and the Republican incumbent’s personal wealth?

The Miami Democrat in the third quarter collected $15.1 million, while the incumbent reported just over $4.9 million in new contributions, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Perhaps more importantly, she wrapped the period with almost $4 million in cash on hand to Scott’s $1.9 million.

Of course, Scott, the wealthiest member of Congress, has historically reached into his own pocket as Election Day nears, and will likely do so again if he worries about Mucarsel-Powell drawing too close in polls. That said, every publicly available poll this cycle has shown him leading the Democrat, albeit sometimes by narrower margins than Republicans’ voter registration edge in the state might suggest.

Reports show Mucarsel-Powell collected almost $12.9 million in August and September, and before that brought in $2.2 million in July, a total reported ahead of the Democratic Primary. By comparison, Scott raised close to $4.2 million over the last two months of the quarter, after collecting less than $700,000 in July.

Of note, Scott also put nearly $1.6 million in candidate loans into his coffers in the last reporting period. He’s made more than $10.1 million in loans to the campaign, which reports some $14.1 million in total debt.

Mucarsel-Powell spent more than $15 million over the quarter, while Scott spent around $7.3 million. That means she netted little in terms of cash. But the fundraising ability and performance by the Democrat has in recent weeks convinced the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) to support her campaign.

Of course, Scott has outside forces allied with his campaign as well. Project Rescue America, a pro-Scott super PAC, independently raised nearly $5.1 million over the third quarter, closing the period with nearly $2 million cash on hand.

Scott, a former Florida Governor, won his seat in 2018 after unseating Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson by a record-close margin. He now enjoys the advantage of incumbency, plus Republicans have a voter registration edge in Florida of more than a million voters, while they were still outnumbered by registered Democrats six years ago.