Updated June 9, 2021 at 2:48 PM ET
Rep. Val Demings, a rising Florida Democrat who was on President Biden's shortlist for a running mate in last year's presidential election, announced Wednesday that she's seeking to oust Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in 2022.
Demings is a 64-year-old former Orlando police chief who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016. She was one of Democrats' impeachment managers during former President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial.
"I'm running for U.S. Senate because I will never tire of standing up for what is right," Demings wrote on Twitter. "Never tire of serving Florida. Never tire of doing good."
Her campaign released a video that touted her personal story and declining crime in Orlando during her tenure as police chief, and took swipes at Rubio.
The senator responded in a video of his own, boasting of his accomplishments while saying that "Congresswoman Val Demings is a do-nothing House member without a single significant legislative achievement in her time in Congress."
Rubio was first elected to the Senate in 2010, and won reelection in 2016 by 8 percentage points.
He's not the only statewide Republican set to get a challenge next year, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is up for reelection, and has already drawn Rep. Charlie Crist and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried as Democratic opponents.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.