MIAMI — Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Democrat, is seeking to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida — and become the first Latina from Florida to serve in the U.S. Senate.

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Their campaigns of division resulted in them calling each other extremists. Scott, who served twice as governor of Florida, didn’t hold back. In his campaign ads, he even accused Mucarsel-Powell, a centrist, of supporting socialism. He was in Tallahassee Tuesday morning.

“Today is a big day! Go vote! This is your future! “What’s on the ballot today is freedom,” Scott told a group of supporters. “Every poll in the general election said I would lose: Every poll in the 18th election said I would lose!” So ​​don’t rely on the polls and make your voice heard.”

Scott, 71, a climate change denier, was running for a second term in the U.S. Senate as an ally of former President Donald Trump. The former governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019 voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania and released the controversial “Plan to Save America” in 2022.

Mucarsel-Powell, 53, an advocate of fiscal conservatism, lost her former House seat to former Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez in 2020. She supports the US embargo against Cuba, investments in climate-resilient infrastructure and abortion rights until it becomes feasible.

After the polls close at 7 p.m., Scott plans to be at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa, 5001 Coconut Road, in Bonita Springs; and Mucarsel-Powell at the JW Marriott Miami, 1109 Brickell Ave., in Miami.

Facebook Live reporting from Bonita Springs

This week’s files in South Florida

VIEW ALL RESULTS: South Florida general election results for November 5, 2024