As Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) faces his Democrat challenger, Rep. Val Demings, (D-FL), a former chief of police, Florida law enforcement and their families are supporting him.
Rubio was given a bipartisan endorsement by 55 sheriffs from the Sunshine State in the early part of the primary season.
“I want to see the whole country. Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago, Washington, DC, Wisconsin. “You didn’t see peaceful protests, when they were burning houses and smashing cars and injuring persons,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd stated during the press conference held in Jacksonville, Florida.
“What you saw was lawlessness. Those things happen in these communities because of the rule makers. They allow it. Because of their community, they allow it. He said that Senator Rubio has stated no in his state.
A few months later Rubio was given an endorsement by the Florida Police Chiefs Association. The endorsement described Rubio as a “consistent advocate of law enforcement in the nation’s capital, standing non just for public safety, but also for the well-being of law enforcement officers, even though it wasn’t politically popular.”
A week later, Rubio was also supported by the Florida Police Benevolent Association. This association includes 30,000 active law enforcement officers.
These endorsements are especially notable given that Rubio’s opponent, Demings has been in law enforcement for more than two decades. Demings was chief of the Orlando Police Department between 2007 and 2011. These law enforcement officers and their families don’t support her.
Rubio’s campaign recently released an advertisement to the effect that Rubio is the best choice for Florida’s law enforcement officers and their families.