Marco Rubio and Val Demings Square Off in First and Only Florida Senate Debate Ahead of the Election

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) will square off against Democrat challenger Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) on Tuesday in the first and only debate between the two candidates prior to Election Day.

The two will face off in Tuesday’s debate, held three weeks ahead of Election Day. This race, in particular, could help determine the fate of the U.S. Senate as Republicans hope to take away the Democrats’ extremely slim majority, gaining not only the Senate but the House as well.

While Demings has out-raised the Republican incumbent by roughly $20 million, Rubio has continued to maintain a lead in the polls.

On Tuesday, Demings accused Rubio of using “race, gender, religion and ethnicity to divide us,” although she failed to provide any examples:

I am serious about representing you in the U.S. Senate, but Marco Rubio wants to use race, gender, religion and ethnicity to divide us. That is what Marco Rubio does. We will vote him out on November 8.

— Val Demings (@valdemings) October 18, 2022

Tomorrow I will go head to head with Marco Rubio. I will hold him accountable for not showing up to work for Florida. Stay tuned to see where you can watch it live at 7 pm EST. pic.twitter.com/2gYx97w50x

— Val Demings (@valdemings) October 18, 2022

Rubio, meanwhile, has identified the “biggest divide in America today” between the “laptop liberals who dominate media, bureaucracy, tech, higher ed & finance & the working class/blue collar Americans they have spent two decades mocking and harming”:

The biggest divide in America today is between the laptop liberals who dominate media,bureaucracy,tech,higher ed & finance & the working class/blue collar Americans they have spent two decades mocking and harming https://t.co/loFMtBvG03 via @nypost

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 14, 2022

Throughout the race, the two have also targeted each other’s views on abortion, as Demings has refused to identify when, exactly she believes abortion should be illegal, vaguely pointing to the “point of viability.”

“Women should have the opportunity to counsel with their doctors and their doctors — in the privacy of that doctor’s office — should be able to make that decision,” she said during an August interview with CBS Miami’s Jim DeFede, adding, “The doctor can tell us all what the point of viability is.”

Demings’ vague answer prompted pro-life Rubio to conclude that the Democrat believes abortion “should be paid by taxpayers at any time, at any time, including potentially the day that the child is due for delivery.”

Tuesday’s RealClearPolitics average of polls showed Rubio maintaining a lead over Demings by an average of 4.7 percent. 

The “Decision 2022: Before You Vote” will stream on NBC 6 and begin at 7 p.m. Eastern.