Debbie Mucarsel-Powell

Deborah Mucarsel-Powell (/ˈmuːkɑːrsɛl/ MOO-kar-sell; born January 18, 1971) is an American politician and academic administrator who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 26th congressional district from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented a district in the southern Miami-Dade County, including Homestead and the Florida Keys.
Mucarsel-Powell was the first Ecuadorian-American and first South American-born immigrant to serve as a member of the U.S. Congress. She was defeated in her 2020 reelection bid by Miami-Dade County mayor Carlos Giménez. As a congresswoman, Mucarsel-Powell voiced support for ousting president Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and was part of a delegation that met with opposition leader Juan Guaidó when he visited the United States.
Before entering politics, Mucarsel-Powell worked for various nonprofits, including the Hope Center, Zoo Miami Foundation, and the Coral Restoration Foundation. She was the associate vice president for advancement and later an associate dean at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.
In August 2023, Mucarsel-Powell announced she was running for the United States Senate in 2024 against incumbent Republican Rick Scott. She won the Democratic nomination for the seat on August 20, 2024, but lost to Scott in the general election by over 12 points.
Mucarsel-Powell was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and raised in Miami, Florida, the daughter of Imelda Gil and Guido Mucarsel Yunes. After her parents' divorce, she immigrated to the U.S. at age 14 with her mother and three sisters. She began working in a doughnut shop and continued to work to help support her family, who shared a one-bedroom apartment. In 1995, her father was shot to death outside of his home in Ecuador.
Mucarsel-Powell attended Pomona Catholic High School in Pomona, California, graduating in 1988. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Pitzer College in 1992 and a Master of Arts in international political economy from Claremont Graduate University in 1996.
Mucarsel-Powell worked for nonprofits, including the Hope Center, Zoo Miami Foundation, and the Coral Restoration Foundation. She worked in fundraising for Florida International University (FIU) and was the associate vice president for advancement at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.
Mucarsel-Powell volunteered for the presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Barack Obama. In 2016, she ran unsuccessfully against Anitere Flores for the Florida Senate.
In August 2017, Mucarsel-Powell announced she would challenge Republican representative Carlos Curbelo in Florida's 26th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. She defeated Demetries Grimes in the Democratic Party primary election with 63.5% of the vote.
In the November 6 general election, Mucarsel-Powell defeated Curbelo with 50.9% of the vote, becoming the first Ecuadorian-born person to be elected to Congress and the first woman to represent Florida's 26th congressional district.
In the prelude to the 2020 elections, Mucarsel-Powell's seat was included as a target of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Her Republican opponent, Carlos A. Giménez, was then the mayor of Miami-Dade County, and was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Mucarsel-Powell lost to Giménez in an upset, with 48.6% of the vote to Giménez's 51.3%.
Within the first month of her tenure, Mucarsel-Powell introduced a bill to provide the people of Venezuela with humanitarian aid amid the ongoing socioeconomic crisis, which had worsened with the presidential crisis beginning in January 2019. She voiced support for ousting president Nicolás Maduro and recognizing the transitional government led by assembly speaker Juan Guaidó. Mucarsel-Powell was among a delegation of House Democrats that met with Guaidó when he visited the U.S. in February 2020.
On December 18, 2019, Mucarsel-Powell voted to impeach President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
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In April 2021, Mucarsel-Powell joined Giffords as a senior adviser, intending to lobby the U.S. Senate to pass the Bipartisan Background Checks Act.
Mucarsel-Powell announced her campaign for the U.S. Senate in August 2023, challenging incumbent Republican Rick Scott. She won the Democratic primary with minor opposition on August 20, 2024, becoming the first Latina woman to be nominated for a Senate seat in Florida. Her campaign had raised more than $12 million by the day of the primary. She lost the general election, receiving 42.8% of the vote to Scott's 55.6%.
Mucarsel-Powell is of Ecuadorian and Lebanese ancestry and is a Roman Catholic. When she was 24 years old, a gunman killed her father outside his home in Ecuador. She and her husband, Robert Powell, have three children.