Democrat Mucarsel-Powel rules out rematch with Gimenez in Florida

Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) on Thursday announced she would not run again for Congress, ruling out a rematch with Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) and adding to Democrats’ recruiting woes in Florida.

“My Florida family: I’m so fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve my constituents in South FL in Congress & I am honored by the support that many have expressed in encouraging me to run again,”  Mucarsel-Powell wrote on Twitter.

“However, today I am announcing that I will not run for Congress in 2022,” she added.

Mucarsel-Powell won the election to represent the South Florida district in 2018, before losing to Gimenez in 2020 by three points.

Instead of running for office, Mucarsel-Powell said she is joining Future Majority, a Democratic advocacy group, as a senior adviser and founder of the Tu Poder program, which is designed to combat Spanish-language disinformation. 

The announcement exacerbates the challenges Democrats face in the swing state ahead of this year’s midterms. Democrats point to uncertainty around what the new congressional map will look like, which they say likely accounts for the difficult recruitment year, as well as a number of high-profile retirements.

The Miami Herald reports that no Democrat has yet filed to run in Gimenez’s district. The newspaper was the first to break the news about Mucarsel-Powel’s decision.