We’re pretty sure Marco Rubio woke up this morning and immediately wet the bed. Why? Because Val Demings, who’s challenging him for his Senate seat in 2022, just disclosed her third quarter fundraising numbers and she outraised him by almost $2.5 million.
Demings raked in more than $8 million over the last three months, from July 1 to September 30, according to Florida Politics. That’s more than any candidate has ever raised at this stage of a Senate campaign in Florida history. It’s also the second quarter in a row she’s outdone Rubio.
Not only that, but her $8.4 million haul is almost double what she raised in the second quarter of the year, meaning the momentum behind her campaign is growing.
Meanwhile, Rubio raised just $6 million in the same time period. And while he still has more cash on hand than Demings, thanks to leftovers from his previous two Senate runs, she’s catching up quick. Very quick.
How about we take this to the next level?
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HOLY SH%T!
She did it! Val Demings raised $8.4 million, the LARGEST off-year quarter in Florida Senate history!Val is going to do this….she is going to flip this seat from Rubio!!!
— Amy Siskind ???? (@Amy_Siskind) October 13, 2021
In addition to being a fundraising machine and all-around badass, Demings is a fierce LGBTQ ally.
In 2019, she co-sponsored the Equality Act, saying in a tweet, “Our past is so ugly in this area. We should all be trying to make it right. The #EqualityAct will protect #LGBTQ people from discrimination in housing, employment, education, and more.”
And in 2018, she gave a truly inspiring speech at the HRC’s annual Time to Thrive Youth Conference, where she took the room to church as she spoke about the importance of celebrating our authentic selves.
Rubio, on the other hand, is about as antigay as they come.
He opposes same-sex marriage, non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, and gender neutral bathrooms. He also voted against Pete Buttigieg being the first out Secretary of Transportation and Rachel Levin being the first openly trans assistant secretary for health. Oh, and he has a 0% rating with the HRC.
If she wins her party’s nomination, which she’s favored to do, Demings will still have her work cut out for her. Democrats haven’t been doing great in Florida that last few election cycles. Trump carried the state in both 2016 and 2020 and last year two Democrats lost two House seats in the Miami area after flipping them just two years earlier.
That said, if these fundraising numbers are any indicator, she’s more than up to the task.
Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.
Invader7
You go Val… I’m sending Miss Demings $$$ for her campaign to throw the Neo-NAZI Fascist Rubio out of office onto his closeted ass !!! Florida = home of the non-vaxxed Trumpie morons.
G-Man
That makes two of us!
barryaksarben
I live in Orlando and she is incredibly popular here. The problem is these money stories are misleading. Supposedly Lindsey Graham was out of money months before the last election and Susan the skunk in Maine too was supposedly broke as was Donald but they all seemed to find tons the last week or so and blitzed the media. Im not sure the gop tells the truth about their money raising like they lie about everything else. I thought we had little Marco beat last time but those Ultra conservative cubans voted him in even tho most of the state rejected the little turd
GayEGO
Way to go girl! Beat the …. out of him!
Fahd
I will definitely be rooting for her. Let’s hope Florida democrats can get out the vote – I can’t imagine a tastier victory than the defeat of Little Marco in Florida, and she’s the right candidate to do it.
jax florida
She definitely took us to church in that Thrive speech and I enjoyed going there. Time to send a campaign contribution. It’s always a pleasure to vote against Rubio but voting for Val will be a great joy.
mdrguy1
I can guarantee you that he did NOT wet the bed. He knows he has the advantage: Florida has increasingly tilted right the past several election cycles. He will sleep very easy & in the end, as much as I love her and wanna see this a-hole out of a job, he’s likely to keep his job. But hey, we gotta try, and I for one will be donating to her campaign. But it’s an uphill climb.
wiggie
the poll numbers show them pretty much even
cuteguy
Unfortunately it’s Florida. The Dems are a mess in Florida. They need Stacey Abrams. I do hope Lil Marco loses but keep in mind Florida is where the criminal Trumps went to hide out. And they voted in Gov Deathsantis
Matthewnow
Dumptrucktrump is not a criminal. And I’m a hung 62 yr old virgin.