TAMPA, Fla. -- The four Democratic gubernatorial candidates faced off Wednesday in their first televised debate, highlighting issues that will play well with their base, yet stumbling on basic questions regarding some aspects of state government.
With months to go before the Democratic primary, former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and Orlando businessman Chris King gave Floridians a taste of what to expect during the race.
The key points: protecting the environment, bolstering public education funding, restricting the sale of assault weapons and expanding access to health care.
But when it came to specifics, candidates at times struggled to give clear answers to basic questions on the budget and even naming Democratic leaders in the Florida House.
Levine, for example, could not say exactly how much this year’s K-12 education budget was, saying it was in the "multi-billions." At the same time, he asserted that if he were to become governor, that budget line would be the “highest number” in his proposed spending plan.
Gillum and King did their homework on that question, and Graham only said K-12 is being funded “15 percent less than we used to.”
When asked who the outgoing House Democratic leader was, Levine also stumbled and got it wrong. State Rep. Janet Cruz, who is the outgoing leader, is running for a state Senate seat that Democrats want to flip.
Graham, the only female candidate in the race, was the favorite target for her opponents, and she did not shy away from taking note of it.
“I seem to be the one,” Graham said. “That’s OK. Gwen and the men.”
Gillum responded by saying his comments were not related to her gender but to her record.
"Her votes on everything from the Keystone pipeline to the Syrian refugee vote, 50 percent of the time she voted against Obama and that what not what I wanted of my member in Congress," he said.
King, who is trailing in the polls, also attacked Graham for not supporting an assault weapon ban while in Congress. To which she responded that is "absolutely wrong," adding that two weeks after the Orlando Pulse Nightclub massacre she talked about "banning weapons of war."
As Democrats try to retake the governor’s mansion and wrest control of the state Senate and House from the GOP, Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo applauded the four “outstanding” candidates.
“Over the past 20 years, Florida Republicans have built an economy where nearly half of Florida families can’t make ends meet and 36 counties have lost jobs,” Rizzo said in a statement.
The hour-long debate, hosted by WTVT studios in Tampa, is the first televised live gubernatorial debate. The debate, available on the station's Facebook page, will give the candidates a chance to boost their name recognition in the state, something most candidates are struggling with at the moment.
It may also give them the opportunity to boost fundraising efforts as Democrats try to keep up with Republican gubernatorial candidates’ numbers.
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