Battleground Democrats embrace law enforcement 2 years after "Defund the Police"
CBSN
As Rep. Val Demings walked onto the stage for her victory speech in Orlando on Tuesday after winning the Democratic Senate primary, she was greeted with blue and yellow signs that read "CHIEF."
It's the title she held for four years in Orlando, where she was the city's first female police department chief. It's also a title she's spent millions on ads in her Senate campaign to highlight, with the title "Chief" – not "Congresswoman" – attached to her name.
"I'm not playing the police. I am the police. I am a law enforcement officer," Demings told CBS News before her primary, where she won with over 84% of the vote. The Florida Democrat, who is taking on Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in the fall, served 27 years in the Orlando Police Department.