Florida Republican Rick Scott wins a second term in the U.S. Senate

NAPLES, Fla. — Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott easily defeated former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell to win a second term Tuesday, and he will now look toward running for Senate leadership.

Scott hopes to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is retiring as the GOP leader, but at this point is seen as a spoiler behind South Dakota's John Thune and John Cornyn of Texas. His win in Florida reaffirmed the strength of the Republican Party in the state despite ballot measures on abortion rights and recreational marijuana legalization that Democrats hoped would drive up turnout.

Scott needed a recount to win his first Senate election in 2018, but that was when Democrats had an advantage in voter registration. This year, Republicans now outnumber Democrats by about a million voters, and Scott's victory came two years after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio won in landslides.

''This is a team event,'' Scott told about 350 jubilant supporters at a Naples hotel, many of them holding ''Scott for Senate Majority Leader'' signs. ''Together we get to celebrate the great victory tonight.''

Scott said he made his failed challenge McConnell two years ago because he believed the Senate needs change to solve ''the problems of this country.''

''Florida is the center of the Republican Party of this country,'' said Scott, who served as governor from 2011 to 2019. He also won those two races by less than 2 percentage points. ''Washington can learn a hell of a lot from what we done right here in this great state.''

Mucarsel-Powell in her concession speech told subdued supporters in Miami that she was proud of the campaign she ran. She said it was an opportunity to show Democrats a new view of what they could do together. The party has been plagued by infighting and leadership issues for years.

''This state needs a lot of love. It needs a lot of work. I'm not going to lie. But I want you to think of this,'' Mucarsel-Powell said. ''We did not win this battle, but the fight is just getting started.''

About a quarter of Florida voters said they didn't know enough about Mucarsel-Powell, to have an opinion of her. The findings come from AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 4,700 voters in the state. Of those who did have an opinion, about 4 in 10 said they viewed the former representative in a favorable light. About a quarter of voters viewed her unfavorably.

Voters were far more familiar with Scott, with about half viewing him favorably.

Despite Florida being considered more solidly conservative, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee insisted that Scott was vulnerable. But national Democrats were slow to invest in Florida, one of the most expensive states to buy campaign ads.

Mucarsel-Powell was the first Ecuadorian American and South American-born congressional member when she was elected in 2018, but she lost her reelection bid in 2020 to U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez. She ran her campaign focused on abortion rights, gun safety and Latin American policy.

Scott won despite some dents on his political resume, including failing to earn a GOP majority two years ago after leading the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Scott also failed to upend McConnell from Senate leadership in a 37-10 vote.

For months, Scott criticized President Joe Biden's handling of immigration and the national debt. He also criticized the president's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Scott often met with Jewish leaders to discuss support for Israel. He also campaigned for former President Donald Trump.

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Associated Press reporters David Fischer in Miami and Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.