TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s political world erupted over the weekend on Twitter and other social media with rumors, confirmations and cancellations of debate appearances by Gov. Ron DeSantis against his Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist.
When the dust settled, it was confirmed that DeSantis had agreed to a debate on a West Palm Beach station Oct. 12 but not to the larger, more widely broadcast and long-running “Before You Vote” Oct. 20 debate.
Organizers said they were told that DeSantis and the campaign are firm on their decision to not participate.
“We got a polite decline,” said Ron Sachs, the statewide coordinator for the Before You Vote debates.
However, he said, Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., have committed to an Oct. 18 debate on the same statewide format. It will be simultaneously broadcast over stations in Florida’s 10 major media markets.
The nonpartisan debate is sponsored by the conservative James Madison Institute think tank, the Florida Board of Realtors, which recently endorsed DeSantis, the Everglades Foundation, which has contributed to the governor’s campaign, AARP Florida, Florida Trend Magazine and the Florida Press Association.
The Crist campaign, which had been criticized by Nikki Fried for avoiding several debate opportunities with her during the primary, has blasted DeSantis for ducking the bigger of the two televised debates.
“Ron DeSantis is refusing to go up against Charlie Crist on the largest debate stage with the most viewers because he’s scared to answer one of the biggest questions on voters’ minds — reproductive freedom,” said Samantha Ramirez, communications director for the Crist campaign. “Ron doesn’t want millions of Floridians watching as he is forced to defend his anti-choice, anti-freedom agenda.”
The DeSantis campaign didn’t respond to a request to explain why the governor turned down the Oct. 20 debate, which he participated in four years ago when he was a congressman running against Democrat Andrew Gillum for governor.
The two also squared off on a CNN debate that was watched by more than 1 million viewers.
“He’s done this debate before, but he knows the landscape has changed, and he’s dead wrong on the issue,” Ramirez said.
For years, political scientists have observed a decline in the impact that debates have on major elections. Studies show most voters have already made up their minds by the time the debates are held, and there’s a limited pool of undecided voters of about 3% to 5%, according to a 2020 Quinnipiac poll.
“Debates can matter, but they don’t always,” said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida.
“If both candidates meet the general expectations of the public and press, they probably don’t matter, and any undecided voters will still search for a reason to make up their minds,” Jewett said.
But a candidate could say something unfiltered that changes minds, or commit a headline-grabbing gaffe or score off their opponent, he said.
Republicans, and some Democrats, in contests across the country are refusing to debate. In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and several members of Congress skipped the traditional Iowa State Fair Soapbox sponsored by the Des Moines Register.
And Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said he won’t debate his Democratic opponent.
“I think that for a lot of conservative Republicans it’s a combination of feeling like the mainstream media is against them, and ... that it’s good politics if they refuse to participate, and then attack the media for being unfair,” Jewett said.
A third take on ducking debates comes to money, he said. DeSantis has raised over $130 million, about 11 times as much as Crist has amassed so far.
With that kind of money, Jewett said, DeSantis doesn’t need the news media coverage and can buy as much media as he wants.
“He’s also shown a knack for getting free media attention and headlines” with his frequent public appearances, Jewett said.
Finally, Jewett said, debates aren’t as important as the used to be with so much information available to voters because of social media and the Internet.
While it’s true voters have a firehose of information about candidates that can be overwhelming, they prefer to hear from the candidates themselves, said Judith Scourfield McLauchlan, a founding director of the University of South Florida’s Center for Civic Engagement.
Studies show that voters said the 2020 presidential debates were far more helpful in helping them make informed decisions than campaign ads, McLauchlan said.
“When you have candidates being asked questions by a moderator you can see them answer in real time,” she said.
The governor’s race is already close and expected to get even tighter in the coming weeks, she said, maybe even as close as in 2018 when the results forced an automatic recount.
DeSantis doesn’t need the exposure to raise his profile, she said, but the public wants him to be responsive and not be afraid to answer questions in a live setting.
“To refuse to answer questions in a format that voters say is important, I think it’s hubristic,” McLauchlan said. “Candidates should be providing answers and not shy away from that.”
