TAMPA, Fla. – So far, the race for Florida governor has been fairly quiet.
But, now the top Democratic contenders are hoping to catch your attention and your vote after hitting the debate stage.
WTVT hosted an event that included the four leading candidates: Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, Miami Beach Mayor Phillip Levine and Orlando businessman Chris King.
Here’s what the candidates said when asked what’s their definition of an assault weapon.
Gillum: Any gun that can fire off 45 rounds of artillery in less than 60 seconds and snuff out the lives of 20 kids or 49 adults or 17 individuals is a gun that I believe is a weapon of war and does not belong on our city streets.
Graham: AR 15s and all variants. I am the one person on this stage, I have the strongest record on gun safety.
Levine: My definition of 'assault rifle' would be very similar to what Mayor Gillum said. Something that fires off 35, 40, 50 rounds. Craig, the bottom line is this, in my city in Miami Beach we passed a non-binding resolution outlawing assault rifles I think about two years ago.
King: Congresswoman Graham said she has the strongest record on guns. You know in my community, we lost 49 people at the Pulse nightclub and during her time in Congress she never supported an assault weapons ban. I will be a governor that will bring this to the ballot in 2020.
Graham: Well, first let me respond to Chris because he’s just absolutely wrong. I am committed to getting assault weapons on our streets. We should not have weapons of war on our streets.
On our Facebook page, Charles asked if they think a Democrat could actually win for a change. The candidates said it comes down to two things: their record and trust.
King: I am the candidate that is the outsider with new ideas and fresh vision who is willing to display the political courage that this state needs to get big things done. I was the first candidate in a generation who said I will not take a dime from the sugar industry.
Levine: Forget about what people tell you, look at what they’ve done. I’ve raised the minimum living wage in Miami Beach. I decriminalized marijuana. I fought climate change and got the highest medal from the president of France. I reformed a police department. I banned plastic bags. I actually did all these things and more. So, every single thing I said I was going to do when I became mayor, I did it.
They also touched on a local issue that's very hot topic: stadium funding for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Graham was the only one who said she would support using state resources, as a last resort, to help fund a new stadium.
Graham: I grew up in South Florida in Miami when the Miami Dolphins went undefeated and I know how important it is to have sport teams in our communities. They are things that bring us together. So, we’ve been using Enterprise Florida, Visit Florida dollars for other reasons. Let’s use them to keep our sports teams here.
Gillum: No, I would applaud the Rays for looking diligently on how it is that they stay in our state, we want to keep them here. But, I tell you when it comes to spending the limited resources of this state, we gotta make sure that we do things like pay teachers a salary where they’re not working minimum wage and moonlighting and retail shops to make ends meet.
With the current political climate, many experts believe Democrats can take advantage and win many seats at the federal and state level.
But, it could still be an uphill battle for Democrats to win the office. The Tampa Bay Times reports that at this point in the election, Republicans have raised more than double the amount of cash over their Democratic counterparts. Not to mention, a Democrat hasn’t been elected to the office since Lawton Chiles in 1994.
There's an effort to put on a debate for the Republican candidates in June.
