Abortion access, election security, and foreign policy dominated Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Val Demings’s (D-FL) one and only debate before Florida voters decide which they want to represent them in the Senate.
Demings, the underdog challenger, came out swinging, calling two-term incumbent Rubio a liar and cheat while introducing herself to the statewide electorate “as the daughter of a maid and a janitor.” But the six-year Orlando-based House lawmaker and former police chief’s bluster seemed to peter out in comparison to Rubio’s command of policy, except for his evasive response to a question about abortion.
Here are five moments from the hourlong debate that stood out:
BIDEN KEEPS FOCUS ON ABORTION AS DOBBS SHOWS SIGNS OF FIZZLING AS VOTER PRIORITY
ABORTION
As President Joe Biden underscores the issue of abortion nationwide, one of Rubio and Demings’s most striking contrasts became evident when they were discussing Rubio’s co-sponsorship of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) 15-week abortion ban.
“Every bill I’ve ever sponsored on abortion, every bill I’ve ever voted for has exceptions,” Rubio said. “Every one of them does because that’s what can pass and that’s what the majority of people support.”
When pressed on whether he would back a bill without exceptions, the senator added he didn’t “believe that the value of human life is determined by the circumstance.”
“We’re never going to get a vote on a law that doesn’t have exceptions,” he said. “She still won’t answer what specific limits. She has never voted for limits.”
Demings repeated she endorsed “a woman’s right to choose up to the time of viability.”
GUN CONTROL
Coming from a state marred by gun violence, Rubio and Demings sparred over how federal lawmakers should react to mass shootings, such as the 2016 Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting and Parkland’s Stoneman Douglas High School shooting two years later.
Demings appeared frustrated with Rubio’s policy argument after this week’s shooting in North Carolina, contending he made “no sense” after he was asked whether an 18-year-old should be able to buy an AR-style rifle.
“People who are families of victims of gun violence have just heard that, and they’re asking themselves, ‘What in the hell did he just say?'” she said. “Florida passed legislation raising the age to have an assault weapon.”
“What makes no sense is that we’re going to actually pass laws that only law-abiding people will follow and criminals continue to violate,” Rubio replied. “The problem is that the Left in the Senate and in the House, like congresswoman Demings, are against it because they want the California red flag law that allows your co-worker who has a grudge and can go to a judge.”
FOREIGN POLICY
Despite both being on their chamber’s intelligence committee, Rubio’s membership of that panel, in addition to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was demonstrated during questions on Russia, China, and immigration.
When needled on how the United States should respond if Russia were to strike an ally, Demings said there should be an “immediate” reaction, while Rubio added it should be “proportionate.”
“The NATO alliance will have to meet and decide what is proportional response, and that would depend on the nature and level of the attack,” he said. “It would have to be an allied response, not simply a U.S. one.”
Rubio and Demings were more evenly matched on China policy. Demings said the U.S. needed to “hold China accountable,” particularly regarding Taiwan. Rubio quipped that sounded like “a good bumper sticker.”
“He goes around the state talking a lot about our dependency on China for semiconductors, and then he voted against the CHIPS Act that will help further American independence,” Demings said.
ECONOMY
The economy was not the centerpiece of the debate, defying expectations given that polling indicates it is a top voter concern. Rubio and Demings were asked what they would do now to offer middle-class families financial relief. Rubio criticized Demings, and Democrats more broadly, for passing trillion-dollar spending packages and for having a domestic energy policy that has relied on periodic releases from the country’s emergency oil reserve. Demings, in turn, scrutinized the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program.
ELECTION INTEGRITY
Rubio and Demings were grilled twice on election integrity and security. Rubio distanced himself from Republicans and 2022 gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams (D-GA), who have disputed election results in the past, advocating for identification requirements and against drop boxes, as well as so-called ballot harvesting.
“I think elections have to have rules,” he said, dismissing people likening “what’s happening now to the Jim Crow era.”
The pair was also asked why a federalized approach to elections was necessary. Demings urged Congress to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
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“We don’t need that federal law imposed on every state,” Rubio countered. “Florida has very good election laws, and other states are very good.”
