Democrat Phil Ehr on Wednesday said he is leaving the 2024 race for a U.S. Senate seat and will run against U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-FL.
Ehr’s exit from the Senate race short-circuits a potential Democratic primary fight against former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who hopes to unseat U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-FL.
The Associated Press reports that this gives Mucarsel-Powell a clearer path to win the nomination to challenge Scott in 2024 because Ehr was her most high-profile opponent to date.
In a prepared statement, Ehr criticized Gimenez, a former Miami-Dade County mayor who was first elected to Congress in 2020.
“I am running to represent the people of south Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys with integrity,” Ehr, a former Navy commander, said in the statement. “The incumbent joined MAGA extremists in creating dysfunction and chaos in Congress. Floridians want their individual freedoms protected and a democracy and economy that work for them. I will fight for this every day in Congress.”
©2023 The News Service of Florida
