WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott hopes his re-election to a second term will enable him to gain a leadership role in the Senate, while former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is seeking a surprise victory that will help her party could maintain its leading position. thin control of the chamber.

Scott hopes to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is stepping down as GOP leader. A win for him would also reaffirm the Republican Party’s strength in the state, despite ballot measures on abortion rights and the equalization of recreational marijuana that Democrats hope will boost voter turnout.

Mucarsel-Powell is running two years after Democrats lost all five statewide seats in Republican landslides. She was elected to represent a district of Miami in 2018 and was the first Ecuadorian-born and South American-born member of Congress. She lost her re-election in 2020 to U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez.

Scott has a large fundraising advantage, including millions of his personal fortune that he has pumped into the campaign, in a state that has shifted more Republican-leaning. The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee insists Scott is vulnerable, but national Democrats have been slow to invest in Florida, one of the most expensive states to buy campaign advertising.

Scott needed a recount to win his first Senate election, but then Democrats had the advantage in voter registration. This year, Republicans outnumber Democrats by about a million voters, and Scott’s victory came two years after the landslide victories of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

Murcarsel-Powell hopes Vice President Kamala Harris will support her and other Democrats in the election.

This year, Scott also faces dips in his political resume, including failing to secure a GOP majority two years ago after leading the National Republican Senatorial Committee and defeating McConnell by 37 to 10 votes from the leadership of the Senate. He also faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans nationwide for his proposal that he must phase out federal programs every five years that initially did not provide exemptions for popular entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

Scott has focused his message on the economy and rising home prices during President Joe Biden’s administration. He also spent months supporting former President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, although it took about a year after Trump announced his campaign to endorse him.