Sen. Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are resisting calls to redirect cash into the Florida Senate race as Democrats are locked in an internal debate over how to spend limited resources into an ever-expanding map.
National Democrats are privately saying they don’t have the money to spend to take out Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who finds himself battling headwinds caused by Donald Trump and trying to fend off a challenge from Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, according to sources familiar with the talks.
But behind the scenes, pressure has mounted on Schumer and the DSCC to change course.
Sources say the calls, which have come from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other prominent Florida Democrats, amount to this: Murphy could pull off a monumental upset and knock off a rising GOP star in Rubio if the national Democratic Party redirected resources to help the party’s Senate candidate there.
But Schumer and the DSCC are skeptical given how expensive it is to run ads in Florida, saying doing so would force the national party to sacrifice three other more competitive states — namely Indiana, North Carolina and Missouri — in order to help a long-shot candidate in Murphy, according to several sources familiar with their thinking.
“The goal is to win back the Senate, and with limited resources and seven or eight other races that are just as close or even more likely for Democrats to win, it’s hard to find the resources for a state as big as Florida,” a source familiar with the decision-making process said.
The decision comes as public polls have suggested the Florida Senate race is tightening, including a new Quinnipiac poll that showed Murphy down by just two points. But sources said internal Democratic polls showed Rubio with a healthier lead.
Democratic sources say it remains to be seen whether a super PAC close to Hillary Clinton, Priorities USA, and one tied to Reid, Senate Majority PAC, drop money to help Murphy. But sources close to those groups suggest no late intervention is in the works at the moment.
Schumer’s opinion is critical since as the incoming Democratic leader he has a heavy hand in directing the spending decisions of the DSCC. Reid, who is focusing on raising money for his super PAC and deferring many DSCC responsibilities to Schumer, has urged the New York Democrat to consider helping Murphy, sources said.
In an interview in Nevada last week, Reid suggested as much.
“We are spending money in Florida,” Reid told CNN. Asked if he wanted Democrats to spend more money, Reid said: “Yeah, any money that we can.”
Schumer’s office declined to comment. And Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson said: “Schumer and Reid agree that they’d like to find a way to play in Florida, it’s just that money is tight.”
National Democrats decided in late summer and the early fall to redirect money away from Florida, a decision they said was rooted in the desire to focus on more likely Democratic pickups to take back the majority.
But President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have hit the trail in Florida, as Trump has struggled in the Sunshine State, raising hopes of Murphy riding Democratic coattails. The Clinton campaign has spoken about the Senate race to the DSCC, but is deferring all spending decisions to the national committee, a Clinton source said.
Still, Florida Democrats are upset, saying that Murphy could be saved with targeted spending aimed at helping the Democratic candidate with specific pockets of voters, including Hispanics in Miami. They say limited TV advertising could be enough to change the dynamic on the ground.
“I think it’s one of those races where you can very easily wake up the day after the elections and if Marco wins by 100,000 votes, and say, ‘That was really a missed opportunity,’ ” said Steven Schale, a Florida Democratic strategist. “I honestly don’t know why at this point they are not reconsidering putting” their money into Florida.