Florida Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy mulling run for GOP Rubio's senate seat

Florida Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy is considering a challenge to incumbent GOP Sen. Marco Rubio for his seat in the 2022 election.

Murphy has been elected to Congress three times in a very competitive Florida district in Orlando. She first won her seat by defeating GOP Rep. John Mica, who was a 12-term incumbent, when it was predicted that she would fall short. She will face another uphill battle in the midterms if she decides to challenge Rubio, who is widely seen as hard to beat.

"I know what it takes to defeat a powerful incumbent because I’ve done it," Murphy told Politico. "I know what it takes to develop the fundraising and grassroots operation – that machine to win in a swing district – because I’ve done it three times."

Murphy said she is "seriously considering" a Senate bid in either 2022 for Rubio's seat, or in 2024 when GOP Sen. Rick Scott is up for reelection. 

She is also launching a statewide listening tour and has hired a top Democratic operative to help lead the effort, Politico also reports.

Her initiative is named, "Cast Forward with Stephanie Murphy," the focus on which is to reenergize state Democrats whom she says have recently been out-organized, out-messaged and out-voted by Republicans.

Rubio's parent are from Cuba, and his home county is Miami-Dade. Murphy left Communist Vietnam in 1978.