Moms for Liberty foe Jennifer Jenkins announces Senate bid against Republican Ashley Moody

Democrat Jennifer Jenkins has beaten high -level political opponents in the past.

During its race in 2020 for a headquarters of the school board in a county in Florida in the south-east of the Conservatives, Jenkins won by 10 percentage points against the Republican Tina Descovich, who would become co-founder of Moms For Liberty, an influential national education group focused on the choice of parents.

Victory, in particular by a two -digit margin, was considered a significant upheaval at the time.

Jenkins will try to play a political spoiler again in the middle of 2026.

On Wednesday, it announces its offer for the Senate against Senator Ashley Moody, a Republican appointed by the Governor of Florida, Ron Desantis, and quickly approved President Donald Trump.

The Republicans have built a recording advantage of voters of more than a million people in Florida – once the country’s largest swing state – and should have a heavy advantage in cash on democrats before the middle, a dynamic Jenkins said it was ready to face.

“I think being a non -traditional candidate who understands the difficulties that everyday people resist through the parties,” Jenkins told NBC News. “I think the Democrats have conceded some [conservative] parts of the state. … I think it’s a bad choice really, of course,.

The year Jenkins won his headquarters at the Brevard County School Board of 10 points, Trump won the county of nearly 17 points, which, according to her, talks about the call for political crossing in a state where Democrats have not won a race in the Senate since the re -election of former senator Bill Nelson in 2012.

Jenkins, 38, a teacher, was increasingly involved in democratic policy on the level of the state in recent years. She planned to run against former senator Marco Rubio in 2022 and became an increasing presence in democratic politics, playing in particular the representative Katie Britt, R-Ala., In a sketch of style “Saturday Night Live” during the State State Convention last year.

But she is already entering the race in a disadvantage.

Moody has more than $ 2.2 million in the bank and the universal support of the White House and the Republican Establishment in Florida. The Republican National Committee this month also used an little known rule which will allow it to start spending money in the name of Moody during what would normally be considered the primary season. Moody should not face a significant republican opposition.

The climb on the rise has become more steep for Jenkins by the fact that national democrats, including the Senate Democrat campaign, generally abandoned Florida after more than a decade of expensive and expensive losses in the state.

This drop was obvious in the last two electoral cycles halfway through. In 2018, national democratic groups spent nearly $ 60 million in Florida, a number that fell to less than $ 2 million in 2022 – when Rubio easily won the re -election.

“I’m always going to defend more support,” said Jenkins. “I was in contact with the DSCC in the hope of convincing them that it is worth their time.”

She said that a victory over Moody would send “shock waves” and reshape the way in which national democrats see Florida after years of disappointment.

Jenkins’ political increase in the state has been largely based on its advocacy for public schools and high -level fights with Moms for Liberty, in particular its own political organization after having served a year as a member of the School Board.

The group, educated We Stand, was set up to combat what Jenkins called the attempted “conservative takeover” of state school boards. During the electoral cycle of 2024, the group collected $ 375,000; He was active in Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan; And he won almost 80% of the races in which he approved.

“Obviously, I have been a defender of public education in the past five years,” she said. “It will be the objective of this campaign. Right now, we have Linda McMahon in charge of our Ministry of Education, who readily declares that she will dismantle him. ”

She also said that her experience having to work a second job to complete her teaching salary gave her an overview of the economy and affordability questions to which “career politicians” cannot relate to, which she hopes to help make additional breakthroughs with people who may generally not vote for Democrats.

“They don’t understand what it does,” she said. “As an educator in the least well -paid state [for teachers] In the country, I know what it is to shake up to pay the bills. »: Done4: