FLORIDA — Florida’s U.S. Senate fight is starting to split along two fronts—money and message.
The GOP incumbent conjuring an old enemy in US politics— Communism, while the leading Democrat is touting a fundraising haul.
State Capitol Reporter Forrest Saunders has a look.
WATCH: Florida's U.S. Senate fight heating up in two areas: money and message
In the race to be Florida’s next elected U.S. senator, Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, appointed to replace Marco Rubio, is using the State Department’s new sweeping Cuba report as a political opening.
"This is really disconcerting to so many Floridians, especially in South Florida," Sen. Moody said.
The 100-page document casts Cuba as the nerve center of a decades-long campaign to undermine America.
It claims Havana infiltrated the U.S. government, cultivated generations of activists and helped fuel movements from the Black Panthers to Antifa and the George Floyd protests.
Moody, warning that Democrats’ embrace of socialism should alarm Floridians—especially Cuban Americans in South Florida.
"It is shocking to me that there are so many people that are hearing what's coming out of some of the Democrats' mouth regarding socialism, and and that that doesn't knock them back," Moody said.
Critics call the report a McCarthy-style exercise in guilt by association.
They warn it could justify domestic surveillance and regime change abroad.
That’s as Moody sidestepped whether she supports military action against Havana… including forced extradition of former Cuban leader Raul Castro.
"An immigrant kid who fled a communist dictatorship and volunteered for the country that took him in," said Democratic senatorial candidate Alex Vindman, who is a refugee from Soviet communism. He is pushing affordability and corruption in his messaging.
That’s while touting an $8.5 million fundraising quarter.
"There's no denying that the Florida Senate race is in play, and this campaign is building momentum," Vindman said. "This quarter, Ashley Moody raised $3.6 million Our campaign more than doubled that, almost two and a half times, actually."
First— though— he has to defeat progressive State Rep. Angie Nixon on Aug. 18.
And if successful, polling shows a mixed bag against Moody.
While Democratic-aligned polling shows a close race, the latest independent University of North Florida survey puts Moody ahead of Vindman 50–40 and Nixon 50–42.
This is another reminder Democrats have not won a Florida Senate race since 2012.
Share Your Story with Forrest
Capitol Reporter Forrest Saunders is dedicated to sharing your voice with political leaders throughout the state. He works to hold our elected leaders accountable and amplify your concerns. Let Forrest know about the issues you want state leaders to focus on by emailing him.
.
Florida memory care facility files for bankruptcy after $1.5M court judgment
A Pasco County memory care facility filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy weeks after a judge ordered it to pay a $1.5 million award to a resident's family in a wrongful death lawsuit.
