NBC News reports that Florida GOP senator Rick Scott will seek another term in the upper chamber in 2024.
Scott ousted incumbent Democratic senator Bill Nelson by just one-tenth of one percentage point in 2018, but he will start out in a much stronger position in 2024. While 2018 was generally a good year for Democrats across the country, Biden lost Florida by 3.4 points in 2020. And Governor Ron DeSantis won reelection by 19.4 points in 2022 at the same time Senator Marco Rubio won another term by 16.4 points.
The forecasters at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics rate Florida as a “likely” Republican hold in 2024:
Initial Senate Ratings: Despite the Democrats’ level of exposure, we view the overall race for the Senate as a Toss-up to start. (@kkondik @Center4Politics) Details: https://t.co/P91tZaMZI9 pic.twitter.com/gi0sCAbZ0z
— Opinion Today (@OpinionToday) January 26, 2023
Despite the favorable map for Republicans, Democrats still have a path to hold on to the Senate in 2024 and nuke the filibuster in 2025.