From [HERE] The competitive 2022 Florida U.S. Senate race may be over a year away, but both Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and top Democratic challenger Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.)  have raked in big fundraising hauls in their respective campaigns.

Both Rubio and Demings have raised over $10 million in campaign contributions so far in 2021. Since the beginning of the year, Demings has outraised Rubio with $14 million, while Rubio has raised nearly $12 million. The Florida senator is on track to bring in more money than he did during his 2016 reelection race when he raised about $17 million. Rubio’s 2016 Democratic opponent, former Rep. Patrick Murphy raised nearly $19 million at the time.

In the third financial quarter, Rubio raised around $6 million and spent about $2.7 million, while Demings raised around $8.5 million and spent about $5.6 million. In the duration of the 2022 cycle so far, Rubio has spent nearly $10 million and Demings has spent around $8 million.

About $1.6 million of Rubio’s campaign funds for 2022 have come from PACs and “other committee contributions.” Some of the largest contributors in this category include the Fund For America’s Future, a leadership PAC connected with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) at $10,000, UnitedHealth Groupat $5,000 and Union Pacific Corp at $5,000.

In contrast, about $300,000 of Deming’s campaign funds for 2022 have come from PACs and “other committee contributions.” Some of the largest contributors in this category for Demings include the Voter Protection Project at $5,000, a PAC focused on voting rights advocacy, and Raytheon Technologies at $5,000. 

Rubio won his last Senate race by about 8 points. While polls have sent mixed signals as to which candidate has the most Floridian support so far, Demings will have to overcome Florida’s Republican leanings to win the seat.