Incumbent Florida Sen. Marco Rubio won his re-election bid Tuesday evening by a clear and decisive margin, guaranteeing a much needed seat for Senate Republicans in a critical election year.
Fox News projects @marcorubio wins Florida Senate race. #ElectionNight #FoxNews2016 pic.twitter.com/uCaxTmpj6K
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 9, 2016
Rubio, who faced an aggressive challenge by Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy, was able to overcome accusations of being an absentee senator and recovered quite handily from a tumultuous Republican primary which hurt his perception among many voters.
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Murphy sought to attack Rubio along these lines as well, claiming the incumbent senator’s endorsement of Donald Trump, his significant number of missed votes, and reneging on his pledge not to seek re-election should disqualify him from office.
Congratulations to Senator @marcorubio on his reelection! pic.twitter.com/xl44hRDGck
— GOP (@GOP) November 9, 2016
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In contrast, Rubio depicted Murphy as someone who relied excessively upon family connections and wealth. According to Rubio, Murphy inflated his resume during his time in office while accomplishing next to nothing.
Murphy is also significantly to the left of Rubio and openly supports abortion, an increased minimum wage, an end to the United States embargo on Cuba, and the Affordable Care Act — otherwise known as Obamacare.
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Congratulations on the great victory, @marcorubio! Florida is critical to keeping the Senate.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) November 9, 2016
Yet with more than 90 percent of the vote counted, Rubio managed an overwhelming victory against Murphy, likely signaling a rejection of the Obama agenda by Florida voters.
Interestingly, should Rubio’s 700,000 vote lead be carried over to the presidential election, a Trump victory seems quite likely as well, though the state was considered too close to call even with 95 percent of ballots counted.
Although the presidential election has received far more attention over the course of the evening, control of the Senate should not be underestimated for either side.
Rubio will return to the Senate as a two-term senator and serve for six years.
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