Murphy wins Florida Senate primary, setting up showdown with Rubio
Rep. Patrick Murphy is projected to win Florida’s Senate Democratic primary after one of the wildest primaries in the nation.
Murphy rode the support of national Democrats to beat Rep. Alan Grayson’s controversial, bomb-throwing campaign. With 96 percent of the vote in, Murphy had 59 percent to Grayson’s 18 percent.
{mosads}President Obama and Vice President Biden were among the top Democrats who endorsed Murphy in the primary.
Grayson faced pressure to end his campaign after domestic abuse allegations surfaced from his ex-wife last month. Several progressive groups retracted endorsements in the wake of the allegations.
Grayson put up a tough fight, and the primary took an increasingly nasty tone as the two Democrats sparred over a host of issues and even compared one another to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Grayson’s campaign started to spiral after a New York Times investigation exposed emails with top staffers advising Grayson to close his hedge fund.
The revelation prompted Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to call on Grayson to drop out, citing allegations he violated House rules in running one. Grayson later confronted Reid at a House caucus meeting, sparking a fiery back-and-forth.
Murphy will now square off against Sen. Marco Rubio in November. The race could be pivotal in determining which party controls the Senate next year. Democrats need to flip five GOP seats — or four if they maintain control of the White House — to win control of the Senate.
Murphy goes into the fall with lower name recognition than Rubio, a former Republican presidential candidate, and with a deficit in most polls.
Murphy will also have to overcome some of his own speed bumps that surfaced during the primary.
An investigation by CBS Miami found he overstated parts of his resume, and Republicans have hammered him for receiving significant financial backing from his father.
But political observers in the state expect a close race that could largely hinge on what happens at the top of the ticket.
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