Nelson Handily Defeats Mack

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., won reelection Tuesday, defeating GOP Rep. Connie Mack. ABC News and NBC News have both called the race for Nelson, only an hour after the polls closed in the Sunshine State.

Nelson is on pace to win comfortably despite a very competitive contest at the presidential level in the Sunshine State. Fueled by a huge fundraising advantage, Nelson never looked in serious trouble.

Nelson's campaign hit Mack with a brutal television spot, detailing Mack's past financial problems and some of his youthful indiscretions, including a bar fight with former Atlanta Braves outfielder Ron Gant.

Mack linked himself to Mitt Romney throughout the campaign, serving as a top Romney surrogate during the lead-up to Florida's presidential primary. But Mack consistently under-performed Romney in public polling, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee and many of the powerful outside conservative groups focused on other races rather than spending too much on Mack's behalf.

Mack emerged from a crowded but unremarkable GOP primary field. A late entrant, Mack emerged as a heavy favorite in the primary after a series of other high profile candidates, including former Sen. George LeMieux, failed to gain traction.

Republicans had hoped Mack would benefit from his famous name: his father, former Sen. Connie Mack, served two terms in the Senate and appeared in some of Mack's television ads. Mack linked Nelson to Obama, often describing him as a "lockstep liberal." Early in the cycle, some Republicans hoped Nelson's voting record would leave him vulnerable. But the senator now has won reelection twice with relative ease. He defeated former Rep. Katherine Harris in 2006.

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