Members of Florida law enforcement, as well as their families, are supporting Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) reelection bid as he faces off against his Democrat challenger Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), who happens to be a former police chief.

Early in the primary season, Rubio received a bipartisan endorsement from 55 sheriffs across the Sunshine State.

“I want you to look around the nation. Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago, Washington, DC, Wisconsin. You didn’t see peaceful protests when they were burning buildings and smashing cars and injuring people,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during the press conference in Jacksonville, Florida.

Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), right, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). (Octavio Jones, Graeme Jennings/Getty Images)

“What you saw was lawlessness. Now, quite frankly, the reason those things occur in those communities is because of the rule makers. They allow that. It’s because of the community They allow that. Senator Rubio in this state has said no,” he added.

A few months later, Rubio received an endorsement from the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA), describing the senator as a “consistent supporter of law enforcement in our nation’s capital, standing not just for public safety but for the health and welfare of law enforcement officers, even when it hasn’t been politically popular.”

A bipartisan group of 55 Florida sheriffs endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in his Senate reelection campaign for governor on January 24, 2022. (Marco Rubio Campaign)

Weeks later, a third law enforcement group, the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which includes 30,000 active duty law enforcement officers, endorsed Rubio as well.

These endorsements are particularly of notable, given the fact that Rubio’s challenger, Demings, served in law enforcement for over two decades, serving specifically as the chief of the Orlando Police Department from 2007-2011. Yet, these members of law enforcement and their families are not backing her.

Rubio’s team recently released an ad to this effect, showing that the senator is the choice for Florida law enforcement and their families.

“We need to re-elect Senator Rubio because he supports not only my husband, Sheriff Gator DeLoach, but all law enforcement in Florida,” Jennifer DeLoach, wife of Putnam County Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach, said in the video as others offered similar sentiments.

“My biggest concern is that when the chips are down, someone is there to have their back and protect them and help them along the way. I really believe that Senator Marco Rubio has their best interests at heart to give them the resources that they need to do their job every day,” Katherine McNeill, wife of Sheriff Mac McNeill said.

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