Fort Pierce - Tuesday October 25, 2022: Governor Ron DeSantis and his gubernatorial challenger Charlie Crist traded blows over the economy, abortion, the pandemic, home insurance and other issues in their first and only debate Monday night at the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce.
Although not open to the public, each side was allowed a limited number of supporters who packed the theater and made their presence known with shouts of support and opposition as the two Florida gubernatorial candidates went at over a host of issues.
The Economy
DeSantis: “The worst inflation in 40 years, these are the effects of the Biden-Crist policies. And Charlie Crist votes with Biden 100% of the time. So, he’s locked together with these polices that have hurt so many people throughout our state and our country.”
Crist: "What we need to do on the economy is make sure we’re focused on Florida. You know he keeps talking about the Biden Administration this, the Biden Administration that. This is the DeSantis Administration and under the DeSantis Administration the middle class is getting crunched in Florida. You can’t get an apartment, you can’t afford a house.”
Abortion
DeSantis: “I’m proud of the 15 weeks that we did. I know that Charlie Crist opposes that. He also supports sex selective abortions, which is used to discriminate against little girls. He supports dismemberment abortions. And he supports taxpayer funding of abortions all the way up to the moment of birth, and that’s wrong.”
Crist: “Ron that’s just not the truth, and you know it. You know it. He wouldn’t answer your question. ‘Do you want to ban abortion completely. He never got to it. I don’t want to ban abortions I want to make sure we keep a woman’s right to chose in the state of Florida.”
Home Insurance
Crist: “Property insurance under you has doubled in the State of Florida, doubled Ron. That’s not good for the people of this state. The real problem is that, according to Forbes magazine, Florida is the most expensive state in the country to live in, more than California, more than New York.”
DeSantis: “We created a re-insurance backstop that is serving us well now that Hurricane Ian hit. And we created a program where Floridians can get grants to make improvements to their homes and then lower rates. I think what we need to do, we need to build up what we did with the re-insurance and we have to address the rising cost of litigation. Its not about lining the pockets of billboard lawyers, its about having a competitive market where people have a shot to make ends meet.”
The Pandemic
Crist: “We need to have somebody at the helm that understands it’s important to listen to science. You don’t just shut down at the outset and then when its politically convenient for you want to open back up to score political points.
DeSantis: "I rejected Charlie Crist’s lockdown letter. I keep the state open and I kept the state free. And we now have the biggest budget surplus in the history of Florida.”
Presidential Ambitions
Crist: “Why don’t you look in the eyes of the people of the state of Florida and say to them if your re-elected you will serve a full four-year term as Governor. Yes or no?”
DeSantis: “The only worn out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.”
Crist: “Yea, well Ron. We know you love to bully people, and a little name calling you just exchanged, I can take it. But you shouldn’t do it when little children are standing behind you at a press conference and they’re wearing a mask.”