Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said Tuesday that he was “encouraged” by the party’s Senate campaigns in Texas and Florida.
“I’m very encouraged with what I see in those states,” Peters told reporters at the Democratic National Convention. “We have very strong Democratic candidates.”
Peters called Texas Senate candidate Rep. Colin Allred (D) a “dynamic individual who is getting great traction in his campaign.”
“We’re already seeing in the polling data a very close race,” he continued. “Same thing happening in Florida.”
Peters’s remarks came as former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) formally clinched her party’s Senate nomination in Florida.
“Rick Scott has never won an election by very much to begin with, it’s always a tight race,” Peters said, referring to the incumbent Republican senator. “So we would expect a tight race again.”
While Democratic statewide victories in Florida and Texas would be an uphill prospect for Democrats, polling suggests that the Senate races there are tightening.
Last month, a survey the University of Houston’s School of Public Affairs and the School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University showed Allred trailing Cruz by three percentage points. However, The Hill’s Decision Desk polling average shows Cruz leading Allred by six points.
In Florida, two polls in recent weeks showed Scott leading Mucarsel-Powell by four points. The Hill Decision Desk HQ polling average shows Scott leading by roughly six points as well.
Peters said that he believes Vice President Kamala Harris’ placement at the top of the party’s ticket could be having a positive impact on these two races.
