DeSantis vs. Crist: Biden, abortion, pandemic top issues in Florida governor debate

With the midterm elections just days away, Florida's gubernatorial candidates faced off in a heated debate at the Sunrise Theater in Fort Pierce, Fla. Incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis lambasted the Biden Administration, while former Governor Charlie Crist, his Democratic opponent, accused DeSantis of constant dishonesty during his term.

The atmosphere was heated from the start. Groups of Crist and DeSantis supporters were repeatedly asked by the moderator to stop shouting at each other, but the audience did not heed her warnings. This set the tone for a contentious environment on the debate stage as well.

Death penalty and DeSantis 2024

The candidates disagreed on just about all topics. The only common ground they shared the assertion that the death penalty should have been granted to the shooter who killed 17 people in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre.

The DeSantis strategy was to link Crist with President Joe Biden, who is not very popular among Florida voters. The governor claimed that Crist voted with Biden 100% of the time when he was a congressman. Crist retaliated by repeatedly calling his opponent a "divider" and described himself as a defender of abortion rights. He would constantly remind the audience of DeSantis' opposition to abortion, even if it had nothing to do with the questions being asked.

Crist asked DeSantis several times if he would run for president in 2024 and step down as governor: "You talk a lot about Joe Biden.... I understand, you think you're going to compete against him. I can see how you can get confused. But you are running for governor. I have a question for you. Why don't you look the people of the state of Florida in the eye and tell them that if re-elected, you will serve a full four-year term as governor? Yes or no?"

DeSantis said his focus was on the current election: "I know Charlie is interested in talking about 2024 and Joe Biden.... But I want to make things very clear, the only worn out donkey I'm looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist," DeSantis responded.

"You love to divide our state"

Crist criticized DeSantis' management of the pandemic, saying the governor's approach was "arrogant." The governor cited Crist and other Democratic members of Congress who called for more lockdowns in July 2020, when Florida was the epicenter of COVID-19 in the country:

DeSantis also boasted of the "Parental Rights in Education" law as well as his ban on "critical race theory" in schools. The law "prevents 6, 7, 8 year olds from having sexuality and gender ideology injected into their curriculum. You're the one waging the culture war..... I'm simply standing up for parents and students," DeSantis said.

The Republican defended the Florida Department of Health opposing care for trans children and said that "minors should not be mutilated.... We're not going to allow that to happen here." Crist responded that DeSantis refuses to "respect another family's decision about what they want for their children (...) You don't have the temperament to be kind and decent to other people who don't look like you, who don't act like you and who don't contribute to you."

Crist further attacked Governor DeSantis: "You love dividing our state.... Whether it's black versus white, gay versus straight, young versus old."