Florida votes in primary featuring Rubio, Wasserman-Schultz

Also of note are two fights to fill US congressional seats in districts 6, 9 and 10, which have drawn 18 candidates in all.

Democratic Reps. Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson are battling for the right to face Rubio in November.

But Grayson’s claim as a liberal firebrand was tarnished by domestic violence reports last month, while Murphy has largely weathered unflattering scrutiny of his resume to build a significant lead in recent polls.

That leaves congressional races as some of the more exciting to watch during Tuesday’s primary, the first since a court-mandated redistricting that took away some advantages for incumbents and prompting one of the liveliest campaigns in years.

Other key issues, including proposed changes to the state constitution that would allow Florida residents to own or lease solar energy equipment for personal use and property tax exemptions for renewable energy devices. Several races will essentially be decided in the primary and Florida will eventually send at least seven new House members to Washington.

Adding to the intrigue is that the fates of the two senators will likely play a big role in whether Republicans can upset expectations and maintain majority control of the Senate after the November 8 election.

The race that drew the most statewide interest – and it wasn’t very intense – features primaries in both major parties for U.S. Senate, with polls showing Republican Sen. But most Florida political watchers now expect Wasserman Schultz to survive despite Canova’s support from backers of Bernie Sanders presidential campaign dismayed about the incumbent’s former role as Democratic National Committee chair. Crist is running as a democrat for the U.S. House of Representatives for the 13th District in Florida.

“They said, ‘You stole from the party.’ He says, ‘No, I didn’t.’ ‘Yes, you did, you had a driveway bill, ‘ ‘No, I didn’t, ‘ ‘Yes, you did, ‘ ‘Oh, OK, well, uh, ‘ he reimbursed them”. Despite voting with Republicans far more often than Grayson, Murphy is backed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. The Miami Republican said Murphy has a “sense of entitlement”. “But I don’t like that he didn’t show up for his job”, Coffin said, referring to Rubio’s many missed votes, which Beruff sought to exploit.

It was clear, though, that Beruff wanted a debate, particularly investing so much money trying to build his name recognition. Instead, Murphy focused almost all is attention on Rubio. “I can tell you, I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president”.

During a phone interview, Murphy said Rubio is more concerned about his political ambition.

Florida’s top election official says the primary election is running smoothly. Grayson repeatedly points out that Murphy was a Republican until he chose to run for Congress.

In the 19th District seat left open by Clawson, Francis Rooney, former USA ambassador to the Vatican and a major GOP fundraiser, appears to have the upper hand over Chauncey Goss, son of former congressman and Central Intelligence Agency director Porter Goss; and Dan Bongino, an ex-Secret Service agent who twice failed in Maryland congressional bids.