MIAMI – On November 5th, 34 of the 100 seats in the US Senate are up for election. One of them is in Florida, and its outcome could affect the balance of the national parties.

Five candidates are challenging Republican incumbent Rick Scott, a lawyer and former health care executive. The former governor of Florida and US Navy veteran has served in the US Senate since January 3, 2019.

Scott’s term ends in 2025, but he is running for re-election and plans to run to become the next Republican leader of the U.S. Senate.

“We have to win this election and get a majority,” Scott, 71, said at a recent campaign event.

Two of the five opposing candidates belong to a political party, three do not. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is a Democrat and Feena Bonoan is a Libertarian. The others are Ben Everidge, Tuan “TQ” Nguyen and Howard Knepper.

“He didn’t work for us and that’s why I know we can win in November,” Mucarsel-Powell, 53, said recently.

According to Federal Election Commission records, Scott and Mucarsel-Powell made the most campaign contributions.

As of September 30, Scott reported total revenues of $34 million and cash on hand of $1.89 million. Mucarsel-Powell reported cash on hand of $27 million and $3.99 million.

“We saw some funding coming from the national party,” Mucarsel-Powell said.

Mucarsel-Powell, born in Ecuador and residing in Miami, and Scott, born in Illinois and residing in Naples, have accused each other of being extremists.

“My opponent is a socialist. She supports open borders, she wants to defund the police,” Scott said.

Mucarsel-Powell disagrees. She is a former U.S. House Representative for Florida’s 26th Congressional District and served on the U.S. House Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.

“Many of the challenges that families face in our state are struggles and challenges that we faced in my family,” Mucarsel-Powell said during a recent visit to UpperTEA in Miami’s Model City.

Mucarsel-Powell accused Scott of having no interest in protecting Social Security and Medicare. Rick Scott disagreed, saying Democrats did not support a proposal to help couples struggling to have children.

“I have a resolution up there that says we need to support IVF,” Scott said. “I can’t get a single Democrat to commit.”

During a recent rally in Hialeah Gardens, Scott added that he opposes Amendment 4, which would limit government intervention in abortion.

“I’m pro-life,” Scott said.

Bonoan, 40, of Jacksonville, is a U.S. Navy veteran. Everidge is a fundraising and legislative consultant with experience on the congressional staff. He founded the Democratic-Republican Party (DRP) to organize moderate voters.

Nguyen, who fled Vietnam’s communist regime in 1997, is an engineer who voices his opposition to authoritarian regimes. Knepper, who was born in Philadelphia and lives in Miami, has experience in property management.