Democratic Florida State Representative Val Demings challenged Republican Marco Rubio on Tuesday night to stop Rubio from being reelected to a third term in the Senate. As a result of her campaign, it was clear that she was a far-left, desperation-stricken extremist in a state where the political majority leans conservative.
First, when the moderator brought up the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the consequent record-high inflation, particularly bothersome in Florida, Rubio showed off his debating talents. The Florida governor candidates were pressed for specific proposals to improve the lives of Floridians in middle and lower-income brackets.
Rubio said, “I think the first thing we need to do is stop sending that type of money,” referring to the trillions put into the economy, adding, “we’ve already done two pandemic reliefs; this is on top of that.” At Demings’s direction, Rubio said, “They were told, the Democrats, by Larry Summers and other Democratic economists that if they did this, they would ignite inflation.”
The senator said, “we must produce American oil again,” citing that production has dropped by one million barrels under the Biden administration, forcing the United States to grovel for oil from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela. His harshest condemnation was directed at Vice President Joe Biden for his role in the depletion of the United States Strategic Oil Reserves. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said the administration would be unable to use the price of oil as a negotiating chip in the next midterm elections. When a national disaster or emergency occurs, they show up.
Demings wasted her chance to respond by attacking Rubio from the outset rather than starting with anything substantive. Since he has never done anything but talk, she claimed, the senator “would know nothing about helping people and being there for those in need.”
Demings has backed ARPA because it will help fund PPPs. In response to Rubio’s refusal to answer her question on ARPA’s involvement in inflation, Demings said, “You played politics, senator, and you did not do it,” lending credence to her contention that Rubio has been neglecting his responsibilities.
Demings argued that Rubio “lied to win” and that “the Senator has resorted to lying, cheating, and trying theft” throughout the exchange.
The moderator was eventually pressured into moving on to the next contentious topic, abortion. Demings’ zeal for the abortion debate was on full display as he articulated his opponent’s stance and rebutted Rubio’s defense of his own.
Though he claims to be “100% pro-life,” Rubio said that every pro-life bill he has sponsored or voted for has included exceptions “because that’s what can pass and what the majority of Americans accept.” Rubio made it clear during the discussion that “protecting human lives” is his first goal and that he will only support the implementation of exception-based policies if they have widespread bipartisan support.
The abortion restriction for discussion is the 15-week ban proposed by Republicans Rubio and Graham (S.C.). Senator Rubio said the legislation is still more lenient here than in other European countries.
The senator made similar remarks about Demings’s record of success. According to him, Representative Demings is the “abortion extremist” of the campaign. Several claims have been made about her, including those made by Cuban senator Marco Rubio: “she supports taxpayer-funded abortion on demand for any reason, at any time up to the moment of birth;” “she is against a four-month ban, voted against a five-month ban;” and “she supports no restrictions, no limitations of any kind.” Her stance is consistent with this view. “This is the most remote vantage point that can be reached.”
Senator Rubio said to the media’s dismay, “No one ever questions them about it.”
The senator then used the fact that the congresswoman had voted against legislation intended to safeguard infants who were born alive in Florida as evidence of her “extremism,” “radicalism,” and “outside the mainstream.”
Demings responded to Rubio’s remarks with a grin, a shake of her head, and a mumble. “Senator, how naive do you believe the people of Florida to be?” she said with a grin. Demings would always accuse Rubio of being for “no exceptions,” despite the fact that he supports making an exception to save the mother’s life. Sometimes he’ll bring up a law he helped draft or pass that includes a loophole.
Deming began to cry as she told the senator, “No, I don’t think it’s right for you to make decisions for women and girls.” She continued, “I believe a woman should make these decisions; her family, her doctor, and her faith.”
Demings has shown a callous contempt for Senator Rubio’s claims about the severity of the abortion problem, calling them “a lie.” Still, she has not responded satisfactorily by identifying which abortion limits she would support. When the moderator allowed Demings to explain herself in light of Rubio’s request, she continued to insist that he doesn’t support any exceptions and that he is a liar. Demings said, “To the best of our knowledge, the senator is against exceptions.” When is it, and what is Marco Rubio saying at this hour? His lip-reading skills have improved to the point that he can now make his lips form virtually any sentence.
Demings merely said, “I support a woman’s right to choose until the time of viability.” Rubio asked Demings during the debate whether he would support such limitations, but Demings did not respond. As time passed, he began to refer to viability as “the blurry line they all offer,” an apparent jab at pro-abortion Democrats who avoid discussing the issue.
And Demings’ history supports Rubio’s arguments. She is an ardent supporter of taxpayer-funded abortions up until birth since she is against the Hyde Amendment and favors the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA). It will expand Roe v. Wade and invalidate state pro-life legislation, despite protests from its advocates to the contrary.
Representative Demings’s hesitance to directly answer inquiries was a chronic one. To a question on whether she would accept the results of the 2022 election, she thought about the value of voting and shared stories about her parents. To “defend democracy” and “voting freedom,” she questioned why we would want to restrict people’s right to vote.
After being cheered on, Rubio answered more directly, saying, “I don’t question my election, as Georgia’s own Stacey Abrams did. It’s unthinkable that you would have tried to change the results of an election.
In addition, he argued that “elections must be regulated.” Rep. Demings was criticized for his views on federal election oversight, precisely his stance against voter ID legislation.
The law was criticized as a “segregationist, Jim Crow policy,” but Rubio noted that when it was passed, Georgia had its highest voting participation ever. However, he said, “We have laws and protocols that give people trust that their votes will be counted and their thoughts respected.” These measures are not aimed at suppressing the vote but rather at preventing fraud and ensuring that elections are conducted fairly.
Demings kept pushing for a federal takeover of election regulations based on wrongs from earlier decades, even when another moderator questioned him and Rubio about voting legislation.
When asked about the ease of voting now, Rubio said firmly, “It’s never been simpler to vote.” He also noted the “record African-American voter turnout” in Georgia after the passage of the election integrity law. He responded negatively to the Jim Crow analogy, asking, “What are we talking about when we compare what is occurring now to the Jim Crow era when people were murdered, forced to pay poll taxes, and taken literacy tests?” He then elaborated on the current state of affairs, which includes strict identification requirements for voters and the elimination of ballot harvesting.
Deming’s strategy consisted, once more, of making ludicrous claims about Rubio, such as saying that the idea of “everyone” having the right to vote “terrifies” him. Funny answer from Rubio: “If I’m trying to suppress the right to vote, then I’m spending a lot of money urging people to vote.” He came out against the suppression tactics and said so.
Demings ignored Rubio’s warning that “only law-abiding people will follow and criminals will continue to break” when the topic of gun regulation came up later in the discussion.
When asked about the Second Amendment, Demings said, “This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment.” He continued, “Every time we address responsible gun ownership and policies that may assist preserve lives, you leave out the Second Amendment.” The lawmaker shouted at the senator, “How long will you watch people being gunned down at elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, churches, synagogues, grocery stores, movie theaters, malls, and nightclubs?”
As Rubio put it, “no one here favors mass shootings and violence,” thus it would be “incorrect” to argue that they did nothing to prevent mass shootings. Demings exploded in response, hammering home the point that Rubio had accomplished zilch.
Demings then threw Rubio under the immigration bus when he said, “The senator loves to talk about open borders; it’s almost an insult to the men and women patrolling the border.”
The only individuals who have insulted the folks working the border are Joe Biden and Democrats, who falsely accused them of abusing Haitian migrants,” Rubio said in response to the claim that Democrats oppose a border wall and would block funding for a barrier along the border. As she accused him of “making it up,” Demings laughed and wrote off her story as a fake. When asked if Senators will “do whatever it takes to win,” he said, “Yes.”
Demings continued to criticize Rubio and fight for his stance to the very end. Before yelling about the senator’s record and running out of time, she said, “I happen to believe that everyone, regardless of who they are, deserves the chance to succeed, deserves the chance to make it.”
This race “Tilts Republican,” per RealClearPolitics, where Rubio enjoys a +4.7-point edge. Political scientists have a consensus that a Republican will win this election. With an 83.4% chance of victory, Rubio is the top pick for both DecisionDeskHQ and the “Likely Republican” label.