Murphy beats Grayson to face Rubio for Senate

The incumbent congresswoman held off college professor Tim Canova, 57-43 percent.

Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., will face incumbent Sen.

“I’m going to vote for him in the next election and if we get four years from Marco, great, because if he wants to run for president I’ll enthusiastically support him for that”, said Ewing.

After a primary marked by no debates among either the Democratic or Republican field, GOP U.S. Senate nominee Marco Rubio challenged Democratic opponent Patrick Murphy to take the debate stage six times between now and November.

Murphy was the favorite in the Democratic Senate race, receiving the endorsements of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Rubio and Democratic U.S. Rep. Murphy, D-Jupiter, will meet in a one-hour debate on October 26 at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale.

The statewide 24 percent turnout was the state’s highest primary mark since 2004, and a larger share of Republicans than Democrats cast ballots. Former state Sen. Al Lawson won the Democratic nomination in her stead.

In July, Wasserman Schultz resigned as head of the Democratic National Committee after emails were leaked suggesting members of the DNC favored former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Sanders instead of maintaining a neutral role in the presidential nominating race. There were media reports this week that he had refused to commit to serving all six years of a Senate term if he were re-elected in November. Rubio calls Murphy a wealthy man’s privileged son, who has lied about his education, work experience and starting a small business.

The Tampa Bay Times also reported that Rubio accepted an invite for a debate, possibly in early October.

Murphy discussed Rubio’s attendance record in the Senate.

Already, according to polls, the senator is earning more support than Trump, who trails Clinton in Florida in most surveys. Rubio who just yesterday said no one can make a commitment to a six-year term.

Previously Rubio had announced his retirement from politics after losing his home state to Trump by some 20 points in the presidential primary election. His disapproval ratings rose from 35 percent to 43 percent.

He beat a tea party activist in the primary and moves on to face Democratic Representative Ann Kilpatrick in the November general election. It’s a race Democrats are targeting in an effort to regain a majority in the Senate, and their hope is that Rubio’s presidential ambitions have dulled the shine he had with Florida voters.

But Murphy is still largely unknown in Florida and outside Republican groups began running negative ads against him weeks ago. Still, his chances could rely heavily on the fates of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Rubio has half-heartedly endorsed Trump since their bruising presidential battles. Who can forget Rubio’s below-the-belt jab about Trump’s “little hands”, or Trump repeatedly referring to the not-too-tall Rubio in one debate as “little Marco”?