Will there be debates in the FL Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate?

A day after former South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell entered the Democratic race for U.S. Senate in 2024, one of her opponents, retired Naval veteran Phil Ehr, reached out to “invite” Murcasel-Powell to a series of campaign debates ahead of next August’s primary election.

“I’m sure that my primary opponent agrees that transparency and openness are keystone values of the Democratic Party, so I look forward to connecting with her and her team to plan out what I believe will be not just a wonderful opportunity for us to share our views, but also an important party building opportunity,” Ehr said in a statement he sent out on Wednesday.

The Phoenix reached out to Murcasel-Powell’s campaign for comment, but did not hear immediately back.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said she agrees with Ehr that having primary debates can help get the party craft their message out about why Florida voters should opt for a Democrat over GOP incumbent Rick Scott in next year’s election for U.S. Senate.

“We all know that there’s never going to be enough resources in our state to get all our message out – not just to Democrats – but independents and Republicans, so getting an opportunity to present yourself to the whole state in that kind of format that gets to talk about who they are, why they’re doing what they do, only helps get the name ID up, only helps to get our messaging out, and to make sure that people see the true difference between our candidates and Rick Scott,” Fried told the Phoenix after she appeared at a Democratic Party event in St. Petersburg Wednesday night.

Fried says the party is neutral in the Democratic race for Senate next year, which also includes former Congressman Alan Grayson. However, the party did release a statement following Mucarsel-Powell’s entry into the race this week – something that the FDP did not do when Ehr nor former congressman Alan Grayson filed to run for the nomination.

“We obviously can’t endorse, but Debbie being a strong female in the race, it was a lot of excitement across the country on her entering. And we wanted to show that she’s in the race and is a strong candidate,” Fried said in explaining why the party issued a statement.

Grayson, who served in Congress representing the Orlando-area from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2017, has previously said that he was “exploring” the race. He says he’s still very much looking at a full-fledged run.

“We’re putting together the pieces of the campaign I want to run, with the emphasis on registering 1,000,000 Democrats” he told the Phoenix in a text message.

Grayson said that he’s not overly impressed from what he’s heard in the opening campaign statement from either Mucarsel-Powell or Ehr.

“I’ve listened to what they are saying, and I don’t hear a plausible plan for victory from either one of them,” he said.  “‘I’m a veteran’ or ‘I’m an immigrant’ is just not going to be enough to beat Rick Scott.”

A spokesman for the Scott campaign noted that all three Democrats have lost their last races for public office.

Mucarsel-Powell lost her bid for reelection to Congress in 2020. Ehr lost to Matt Gaetz in Florida’s First Congressional District also in 2020. And Grayson has lost his last three runs for office, most recently in a Democratic primary last year to Maxwell Frost.

“Instead of blaming Republicans for Joe Biden’s failures, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Alan Grayson and Phil Ehr should let Floridians know if they support Democrats’ radical agenda that’s crushing Florida families,” said Scott press secretary Jonathan Turcotte.

It’s likely that there will be a debate between the Democratic nominee and Rick Scott in the U.S. Senate race.