WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Rick Scott won a second term in Florida on Tuesday, defeating Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in a Senate race that Democrats had been eyeing as a potential pickup. Scott served two terms as governor of Florida before defeating then-Sen. Bill Nelson in 2018 in a race so close it went to a mandatory recount. The closeness of that race and the strengths of Mucarsel-Powell, a former congresswoman from Miami, had Democrats arguing the
[ seat was in play ]
. Scott has already announced he will seek to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell as majority leader in the next Congress. The Associated Press declared Scott the winner at 8:01 p.m. EST.