Marco Rubio, Patrick Murphy wage battle of the sixes over debates

Rubio began the discussion by challenging Murphy to six debates in an open letter sent out Wednesday morning that in part reads... - Diane Martin-Johnson, 66, after voting for Marco Rubio, who won his Republican primary race in Florida to run for U.S. Senate in November. It will end her 24-year congressional career, as former state Sen.

But Libertarian Paul Stanton, who defeated Augustus Invictus in that party's primary on Tuesday, will be one of five other candidates on the ballot in November offering a choice beside Rubio or Murphy.

In Florida, political watchers scoured primary returns in a bevy of House districts that were been redrawn just months ago by a court-ordered redistricting. Tuesday also saw House Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz, an embattled Florida congresswoman who until recently chaired the Democratic National Committee, survive a spirited challenge.

Wasserman Schultz easily beat Tim Canova, a Bernie Sanders-backed law professor who was able to raise more than $3 million in a primary colored by leaked emails revealing that DNC officials had worked against Sanders to favor Hillary Clinton in the presidential race.

With 82 percent of the vote in, the incumbent congresswoman was leading college professor Tim Canova, 57-43 percent, and was declared the victor by the AP. She also took the opportunity to encourage her supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton.

Rubio is widely expected to prevail in the Florida Senate primary on Tuesday.

Many of those races have been marked by the familiar national dynamic pitting establishment-vs. -insurgents - but with local twists. If Democrats sweep all four seats seen as competitive in November, that Republican advantage could be reduced to 14-13.

A similar dynamic was at play in the Jacksonville-area 4th District, being vacated by Crenshaw, where former county sheriff John Rutherford beat Hans Tanzler III, an attorney, and Lake Ray, a state lawmaker, who had both sought to portray Rutherford as insufficiently conservative for the safely Republican seat. With 69 percent in, Murphy was up 59-18 percent. Bob Graham, a former senator, and his daughter, U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham.

Rubio has the advantage of already having won a statewide election in a state with more than 12 million voters.

"The race to pick a new U.S. Senator is being closely watched nationally", said Dean Ridings, Leadership Florida chairman and president of the press association.

Here's what our 10News WTSP Republican analyst says Marco Rubio has to do right now to win. Marco Rubio was projected to win Florida's Republican US Senate primary today, setting up a highly anticipated re-election effort after pledging to exit politics when his presidential bid failed earlier this year.

The Democratic race was expected to be closer, with Grayson drawing on his support among progressive activists to topple the centrist Murphy. Earlier this month, Mr. Murphy stopped running ads, signaling that he's conserving his war chest for Mr. Rubio.

Rubio, who decided at the last second to seek a second term, easily fended off millionaire homebuilder Carlos Beruff and Murphy used the backing of President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders to defeat U.S. Rep Alan Grayson, who was counting on his party's most faithful liberal voters to overcome Murphy's money and establishment support.