But, predictably, the contented that struck 1 of the earliest fights betwixt the 2 was abortion, a taxable that Democrats person highlighted successful the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s determination this twelvemonth to overturn termination protections codified successful Roe v. Wade.
“Senator, however gullible bash you deliberation Florida voters are?” Demings asked, aft Rubio accused her of supporting termination until the “moment of life.”
Rubio pushed backmost connected Demings’ accusation that helium doesn’t enactment immoderate exemptions to termination laws, raising his co-sponsorship of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C) federal connection to prohibit abortions aft 15 weeks but includes exceptions for victims who go large done rape oregon incest.
“The extremist connected termination successful this run is Congresswoman Demings. She supports nary restrictions, nary limitations of immoderate kind,” Rubio said. “She supports taxpayer-funded termination … up until the infinitesimal of birth.”
The Rubio-Demings Florida Senate contention aboriginal connected appeared arsenic if it could beryllium 1 of the astir consequential contests successful determining power of the precocious chamber. But with conscionable a fewer weeks earlier the November election, it has taken a backmost spot to competitory Senate contests successful Pennsylvania and Georgia and hasn’t received apical billing adjacent successful Florida, wherever Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election bid has gotten overmuch much attention.
Demings, a 65-year-old Black erstwhile Orlando Police Chief who was erstwhile being considered arsenic President Joe Biden’s moving mate, is viewed arsenic a rising prima successful Florida and nationalist Democratic circles. While she’s raised immense sums of run cash, nationalist groups person each but abandoned her. The contention has already surpassed the $100 cardinal mark.
Rubio, 51, a two-term legislator who ran for president successful 2016, has consistently outpolled Demings by astir 5 points successful a erstwhile perennial plaything authorities that is present leaning Republican.
During the hour-long debate, the moderator besides asked the candidates astir clime alteration arsenic the authorities continues to retrieve from Hurricane Ian, a adjacent Category 5 tempest that decimated overmuch of Southwest Florida successful precocious September, sidesplitting astatine slightest 119 radical and racking up a projected $50-plus cardinal successful insured losses — an magnitude that would marque it the astir costly tempest successful authorities history.
“We person got to get superior astir clime change, clime alteration is real,” Demings said. “If we don’t bash thing astir it, we are going to wage a unspeakable price.”
She added that capable resources to “adequately respond” request to beryllium provided to the Federal Emergency Management Agency portion Rubio said FEMA reimbursements to section governments devastated by earthy disasters similar hurricanes request to beryllium dispersed quicker.
“What is happening for a batch of these cities and counties is, they person to walk a batch of wealth connected the beforehand end, wealth retired of their budgets,” helium said.
The 2 besides argued implicit immigration, an contented that has travel to the forefront successful Florida aft DeSantis flew astir 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard successful September and the migration dilemma astatine the confederate borderline keeps growing. Rubio claimed Demings disrespects U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, a remark that sparked contiguous pushback from Demings, who accused the Republican of saying “anything to win.”
“We are a federation of laws. I enforced them for much than 20 years,” Demings said. “We request to marque definite men and women astatine the borderline person the resources they need. I americium a instrumentality of boots connected the ground.”
Rubio, though, said the concern astatine the borderline is simply not sustainable.
“There is nary state successful the satellite that tin tolerate, licence oregon spend 5,000 radical arriving each time astatine the borderline and accidental the magic connection and get asylum,” Rubio said.
Demings is viewed by Florida Democrats arsenic their strongest campaigner of the 2022 midterms. There was initially an interior tug-of-war betwixt immoderate Democrats who wanted her to tally against DeSantis for governor. But aft immoderate cardinal Democrats pushed her to tally for Senate, including DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, she decided to effort and halt Rubio from winning a 3rd Senate term.
Demings, who served arsenic a House impeachment manager during impeachment proceedings against erstwhile President Donald Trump, has raised $65 cardinal adjacent though she has mostly been abandoned by nationalist groups much anxious to walk to support incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, for instance, has not financially helped Demings astatine all, a astonishment exit from Florida Senate races considering immoderate extracurricular groups, including the DSCC, gave astir $50 cardinal successful 2018 to the failed re-election run of erstwhile Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Demings has brought successful immense sums successful tiny dollar donations, collecting astir $8 cardinal unsocial successful August done ActBlue, the Democrat’s biggest tiny dollar fundraising platform. It was the biggest haul of immoderate Democratic campaigner nationally that month.
Rubio has raised astir $45 million, and has a astir $3 cardinal cash-on-hand vantage implicit Demings, whose run has spent astir $60 cardinal compared to $35 cardinal spent by Rubio.
While the contented of transgression wasn’t straight during Tuesday’s debate, the state’s aggregate wide shootings, including a 2016 shooting astatine Pulse Nightclub successful Orlando and the 2018 Parkland shooting that near 17 dead, were a constituent of contention.
“How agelong volition you ticker radical being gunned down successful archetypal grade, 4th grade, precocious school, assemblage religion synagogue, a market store, a movie theater, a mall, and a nighttime nine and bash nothing?” Demings asked.
Rubio countered that helium supports “red flag” laws similar the 1 passed successful Florida aft the Parkland shooting that created a ineligible process to temporarily prohibit radical who are a harm to themselves oregon others from possessing firearms. Some conservatives, including DeSantis, said they bash not enactment the Florida instrumentality due to the fact that of 2nd Amendment concerns.
Both were besides asked if they would judge the result of the 2022 elections, a question that has go commonplace for Republicans aft erstwhile President Donald Trump’s refusal to admit losing the 2020 predetermination to Biden.
Rubio said helium has “never denied an election” and volition not this twelvemonth due to the fact that helium believes successful Florida predetermination laws crafted by the state’s Republican-led Legislature.
He decried what helium called a “federal takeover of our predetermination system,” which helium said is what Democrats seek.
“That’s nonsense,” Demings rapidly changeable back.
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