Joe Henderson: Both gubernatorial candidates made their points, but did it matter?

It wasn’t always clear throughout Monday night’s Florida gubernatorial debate whether we were watching an exchange of ideas or a pep rally.

Note to future planners: It’s time to ditch the live, partisan audience at these encounters.

However, when the one-hour exchange between Democratic challenger U.S. Charlie Crist and incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis ended, we had a clear dividing line from where the two men stood. And so did the statewide audience.

The question is, did it convince any undecided voters one way or the other?

Crist attacked DeSantis on multiple fronts, most notably abortion rights. He kept turning every question back to his fundamental point that women should control their bodies. Crist was composed and not combative, forceful, and at times persuasive.

But so was DeSantis.

The Governor defended his stance about limiting what young school children can be taught about sex and gender. He stood by his decision to keep schools open despite medical advice to the contrary during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So who won probably depended most on who you supported going into the night. And that brings us back to the pep rally feel about the debate.

Despite what I might personally agree with, I thought both men made their points persuasively. However, we often lost both candidates’ points when supporters on both sides cheered over their words, which must stop. This isn’t a TV show, folks. It’s a serious exchange of ideas between two opposing sides that, for a change, actually seemed to have some substance as these things go.

Crist, a former Governor of Florida, repeatedly referred to DeSantis as Ron. He questioned several times whether DeSantis would commit to serving a full four-year term if elected, but never got a direct answer. The inference was clear: the 2022 gubernatorial race, Crist implied, is merely a staging ground for DeSantis to mount a campaign for President in two years.

That could well be the headline of this debate.

But with DeSantis well ahead in the polls, and Floridians appearing satisfied with his performance, was that enough for Crist to move the needle?

So far, polls show it’s not.

Crist attacked the 15-week abortion ban DeSantis signed, but that issue doesn’t seem enough to carry him over the goal line. He didn’t seem to land enough points on the economy to make Floridians say Tuesday morning that it was their main takeaway from this debate.

Crist attacked one of the big complaints about DeSantis.

“You don’t have the temperament to be kind and decent to people who don’t look like you, act like you, or contribute to you,” he said.

The studio crowd went wild.

But did it move the needle for the challenger?

We won’t know that for sure until Election Day, but it’s doubtful DeSantis did anything in this debate to hurt his reelection chances. And, seriously, wasn’t that was this exercise was all about?

The post Joe Henderson: Both gubernatorial candidates made their points, but did it matter? appeared first on Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..

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