It's official. Florida Rep. Val Demings will challenge Republican Sen. Marco Rubio for his US Senate seat in 2022.
She made the announcement Wednesday on social media.
“I’m running for the United States Senate because of two simple words: Never tired," Demings said in the video announcing her candidacy.
The video focuses on Deming's career in public service, which started in law enforcement with the Orlando Police Department. It also features jabs at former President Donald Trump and her opponent Sen. Marco Rubio.
“Unlike some in Washington, I never tired of standing up for what I believe is right, because no one is above the law,” Demings said.
The Hill calls Deming the "highest-profile Democrat yet" to challenge Rubio's senate seat.
Demings, 64, represents Florida's 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She made history in 2007 when she became Orlando’s first female Chief of Police, and the first Black woman to serve in the position.
The congresswoman gained national recognition as the only non-lawyer on the first House impeachment committee to charge President Donald Trump with wrongdoing. Her background as a Black woman in law enforcement allowed her to become a prominent voice on policing and racial issues, which Politico reports earned her a spot on President Joe Biden’s shortlist as a possible running mate in the 2020 election.
Born in Jacksonville, Demings is a Florida native. She is married to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, is a proud mother to three sons, and proud grandmother to five, according to her government biography.
She currently sits on the Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security.
Sen. Marco Rubio posted a response to the announcement on Twitter, where he calls Demings "a do-nothing House member without a single significant legislative achievement in her time in Congress."
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