'We Are Being Outraised': Marco Rubio Begs Fox News Viewers For Cash For Re-Election
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Tuesday appealed directly to Fox News viewers for campaign donations as he seeks to fend off a challenge from Democratic Rep. Val Demings.
“I need people to help me because she’s raising all this money from ultra-liberals,” Rubio said in a Tuesday appearance on Fox News.
“Please give because we are being outraised,” he said.
Demings, a former Orlando police chief, accelerated her campaign fundraising over the summer, hauling in an impressive total of more than $46 million so far. Rubio’s campaign hasn’t quite matched her pace, prompting his appeals for more funds.
Florida has tilted toward Republicans in recent elections, and Rubio remains the favorite to win re-election in November. But a recent poll conducted by the University of North Florida found Rubio trailing Demings by 4 points. Some Democrats’ hopes have been raised at the possibility that the trend could change, especially following the public backlash to the Supreme Court decision gutting Roe v. Wade and the string of legislative victories for Democrats.
Still, there’s plenty of reason to be skeptical of polling at this point. It’s early in the race, and many people haven’t begun to tune in to the midterm campaign season. While Demings has spent large sums of money on campaign ads, Rubio and his well-funded allies have not spent nearly as much ― yet.
Demings was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016. She gained national attention for her role in then-President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, in which she served on the House panel that charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Rubio voted to acquit Trump during both of his impeachment trials.
Demings’ campaign has run on a “law and order” message, emphasizing her ascension from Orlando police officer to the department’s first Black female police chief.
Rubio on Tuesday dismissed Demings as inexperienced and touted his work helping pass several bipartisan laws, including one that expanded health care to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.
“I’m the one that passed the burn pit legislation. I’m the one that passed the reforms to the VA. I’m the one that passed the child tax credit,” Rubio said on Fox.
Rubio appeared to be referring to the 2017 GOP tax cut law, which doubled the maximum child tax credit (CTC) from $1,000 to $2,000 per child under age 17.
Upon taking control of Congress in 2021, Democrats increased the child tax credit to $3,000 per qualifying child between ages 6 and 17 and $3,600 per qualifying child under age 6. They also allowed people to claim the credit as a monthly payment in advance.
The expanded child tax credit payments ended last year, however, due in part to unanimous Republican opposition to its extension.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
