Democrats said Friday that they are going on the offensive in two red states, Florida and Texas, confident that their candidates can credibly challenge incumbent Republican senators.
Speaking on a press call, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said the party is convinced that Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., are vulnerable this November.
“We have very real opportunity in both Texas and Florida,” Peters told reporters, detailing a multi-million dollar investment in the races by the DSCC. “If you look at those two states, our challengers are running against unpopular Republican incumbents who have very weak polling, and right now, our challengers are surging. We’ve got momentum.”
In Texas, recent polls show Democratic challenger Colin Allred around 3-4% behind Cruz, within the margin of error. In Florida, Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell trails Scott by roughly the same amount.
Peters stressed that Democrats have an uphill climb ahead of them but that the party believes the races in these states can be won, which would go a long way to ensuring the U.S. Senate remains in Democratic control next year. His comments come after the Democratic National Committee recently announced it was transferring millions of dollars to state parties, an investment made possible by the party's record-breaking fundraising since Harris ascended to the top of the presidential ticket.
The strategy is simple: invest more money and resources, Peters said. "Putting wind in our sails is the amount of enthusiasm that we have from volunteers,” he added. A record number of people have volunteered to help elect Vice President Kamala Harris, he said, "enthusiasm" that has trickled down to Senate races.
Pointing to Texas, Peters said polling shows that Allred performs better the more voters get to know him, suggesting he has room to grow in a way that the better known Cruz does not. "As he gets to be known, he wins," Peters said.
"And in Florida, same situation," Peters said. "We have Rick Scott, the incumbent there, who has run several statewide races, and even when he's had a tailwind behind him, he's never won by more than just a hair over 1 point. That's not a strong candidate."
With the races so close, Peters argued that the winner will be determined by whoever puts in the most effort between now and November.
"The polling is moving in our direction. We have momentum. We're confident we can keep that momentum going," he said.
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