Democratic U.S. Senate candidate hits the ground in Duval after poll shows her within three points of Republican incumbent

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell made two stops in Jacksonville Tuesday as part of her Florida Freedom Bus tour.

The stop comes just one day after the drop of a new UNF poll that shows her within striking distance of her opponent, US Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida).

Flanked by supportive national security experts and veterans, Mucarsel-Powell hit the ground in Duval County with two weeks to go before Election Day.

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“Duval County is a dynamic slate. A lot of young people live here. We elected the first Democratic mayor here in a long time,” said Mucarsel-Powell.

The former Congresswoman argued her Republican opponent has let veterans down since heading to Washington DC six years ago.

“He wants to eliminate Medicare and Social Security. He has proposed raising taxes including to service members,” said Mucarsel-Powell.

Scott’s campaign released a statement criticizing Mucarsel-Powell’s, “Record of voting with California socialists 100% of the time”.

Scott also referred to his opponent as a socialist during a campaign stop in Jacksonville back in July.

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“You have a lot of people who came here from Cuba and Venezuela and Nicaragua and Colombia and all these places because they walked away from the socialists, and my opponent who actually severed two years in Congress, was a complete socialist,” said Scott.

We asked Mucarsel-Powell what she made of those comments.

“He has absolutely nothing else to offer. He’s been in office 14 years, and he has been a complete failure,” said Mucarsel-Powell.

She also pushed back on Scott’s claim she never broke party lines during her time in Congress.

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“When I voted, these bills were bipartisan bills. You know what I voted for? To protect people living with preexisting conditions. Is that what Rick Scott is talking about?” said Mucarsel-Powell. “I voted to expand Medicare coverage. Of course he doesn’t like that I voted for that.”

Four percent of voters said they had made up their mind on the Senate race in the poll released Monday.

Mucarsel-Powell will have to win the bulk of them over if she hopes to pull out a victory on November 5th, against an opponent who has a track record of winning tight races.

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