Rubio-Demings Florida Senate battle puts crime and policing front and center

Democratic Rep. Val Demings, a former Orlando police chief, calls the idea of defunding the police "just crazy" in a new campaign commercial that started running this week, as she challenges Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida in a high profile, high stakes, and expensive Senate race.

But Rubio – as he landed another major law enforcement endorsement on Friday - criticized Demings for not pushing back against the idea of defunding the police two summers ago, "when it was really mattering, when they were setting cars on fire."

Demings, who spent nearly three decades in law enforcement and who rose through the ranks to become Orlando’s first female police chief, spotlights her crime fighting resume in her latest campaign commercial.

"Protect and serve Florida – that’s what I’ve done - as a police office and as chief," Demings says in the statewide TV spot, which is backed by a massive eight-figure ad buy.