WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ahead of the Nov. 8 election, Sen. Marco Rubio and Democratic challenger Rep. Val Demings squared off in their first and only debate this midterm.
Getting straight to the point, news anchor Todd McDermott moderated the debate. Palm Beach Post Executive Editor Rick Christie and Florida Trend Executive Editor Vicki Chachere also asked Rubio and Demings questions.
The two candidates vying for a U.S. Senate seat were challenged on hot topics including the response to sea level rise and monster storms such as Hurricane Ian, $2 trillion American Rescue Plan, abortion rights, voter rights, property insurance and mass shootings.
In response to Hurricane Ian and rising sea level, Demings said the state should address climate change and provide FEMA with the resources needed to assist communities hard-hit by strong storms. Rubio on the other hand, did not mention environmental causes but highlighted his previous work with storms such as Hurricane Fiona and backed the plan to ready emergency response and long-term recovery.
Demings and Rubio fired back and forth on the topics of abortion, property insurance and voter rights. Demings, who supports abortion "up to viability," said there should be exceptions for rape and incest. Rubio, during the debate, said he is pro-life with exceptions, which Demings argued Rubio has never supported exceptions, to which Rubio said is not true. Rubio said he supports "saving lives."
“Every bill I have ever sponsored on abortion and every bill I’ve ever voted for has exceptions,” Rubio said.
“What we know is that the senator supports no exceptions," Demings responded. "He can make his mouth say anything today. He is good at that, by the way. What day is it and what is Marco Rubio saying?”
Rubio stands to benefit from the widening voter registration advantage that Republicans hold over Democrats in the increasingly conservative state. The rightward shift will likely expand in areas such as Miami-Dade County, home to Rubio.
Demings has criticized Rubio for his attendance record in the Senate, while the senator has called Demings a “rubber stamp” for the Biden agenda, as the president contends with inflation pressures and rising gas prices.
But on Tuesday, Rubio also attacked Demings for not passing legislation in Washington, saying all she had done was get two post offices named for police officers who died in the line of duty. Demings angrily rejected his characterization.
“It’s embarrassing that you think that honoring a person who was a hero by naming a federal building after them is nothing,” she said.
Demings repeatedly accused Rubio of distorting her record.
“I am really disappointed in you because I think there was a time when you did not lie in order to win,” she said.
As Florida property insurance surges, Demings claimed in all of Rubio's years in the Senate, he's done nothing for Florida, but said she's reached out to the government to ask what can be done to protect Florida homeowners. Rubio said among other things to combat rising property insurance would be to reform the flood plan.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.