Former Florida senator's claims that Russia hacked local voting databases were widely ridiculed. Now it looks like he was right.

They were warned.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) said on Monday after a Friday briefing with the FBI that the voting database of a second county in the state was hacked by Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential election. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election interference had already revealed that another county's database was similarly breached.

The state's former Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said in 2018 that Russians had "penetrated" some registration systems in the state ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, but he was widely ridiculed by Republicans, including his then-election opponent and eventual winner, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who challenged Nelson to prove his claims. Florida's other senator, Marco Rubio (R) joined Nelson in warning about potential cyber-interference, however.

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But it wasn't just political opponents who dismissed Nelson — The Washington Post gave him four "Pinocchios," indicating the paper felt there was little truth behind his words.

Now, with the recent revelations about the hackings, it appears that Nelson is somewhat vindicated. To be clear, the findings of the FBI and Mueller refer specifically to the 2016 presidential election and not the 2018 midterms, but they still show that the vulnerabilities Nelson preached of did exist.