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Rep. Val Demings wins Democratic Senate nomination, will face Sen. Marco Rubio in November

Representative Val Demings after winning Democratic Senate nomination
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Representative Val Demings has won the Democratic Senate nomination and will face Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in November's general election.

Representative Demings' background is in law enforcement. She has a bachelor's degree in criminology from Florida State and a Master's Degree in public administration. Demings was appointed chief of police in Orlando in 2007.

Demings served as the chief of Orlando Police from 2007 to June 1, 2011 when she retired after 27 years with the Orlando Police Department.

By 2012, Demings had made her way to the political arena. After two losses, Demings ran for the 10th Congressional District seat in 2016 and won. She ran unopposed for a second term in 2018 and won again in 2020.

Demings now has her eyes set on Senator Rubio after winning the nomination.

Rubio was airing attack ads against Demings for several weeks leading up to the August 23rd Democratic primary.

According to FEC campaign reports, Demings and Rubio run almost equal in their fundraising, though Demings performed much better over the last few months than Rubio.

And a poll from the University of North Florida gave Demings a four-point lead over Rubio, 48-44 percent.

Rubio is running for his third term as a U.S. Senator. He's spent the last 18 years in Washington, DC as a Senator from Florida.