Florida's Gubernatorial Debate: Round 2 Ends With Fist Bump

DAVIE, FL — Florida's second and final gubernatorial debate Wednesday night was marked by finger pointing and name-calling, but ended with a friendly fist bump.

With fewer than two weeks to go before the Nov. 6 election, the candidates for Florida governor decried extreme political divisiveness on a day when pipe bombs were mailed to Democratic leaders, but then they immediately began intense name-calling.

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Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis and Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum agreed that some people are being pushed over the edge by extreme political rhetoric.
DeSantis pointed out that last year he had just left a Republican congressional baseball practice before a gunman starting shooting at his teammates.

Gillum then called DeSantis a liar, and DeSantis called Gillum corrupt, pointing at Broadway tickets to “Hamilton” that were supplied by an undercover FBI agent investigating corruption at Tallahassee City Hall.

Gillum admitted taking the ticket, but said he received it from his brother and he thought his brother swapped them for concert tickets.

“I should have asked more questions to make sure that everything that transpired was above board,” Gillum said, before quickly trying to switch topics. “In the state of Florida, we’ve got a lot of issues. In fact, we’ve got 99 issues and Hamilton ain’t one of them.”

Gillum said he isn’t a subject of the FBI probe.

DeSantis wouldn’t let it go, mentioning the Broadway tickets several times.

“He wants you to believe that he’s not under investigation,” he said. “Why would an undercover FBI agent posing as a contractor give him a $1,000 ticket to ‘Hamilton?’”
DeSantis at one point angrily responded to moderator Todd McDermott’s question about his decision to speak at events organized by someone who has made racially inflammatory comments.

As of Thursday, Gillum stretched his lead over DeSantis to 5.8 points, according to RealClearPolitics, which has moved from calling the race a toss up to now giving the edge to Democrats. The RealClearPolitics numbers are based on a statistical average of multiple polls.

Vice President Mike Pence was to be in Jacksonville on Thursday to campaign for DeSantis while Gillum planned to hold three rallies at college campuses around Miami.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Republican Ron DeSantis (left) and Democrat Andrew Gillum fist bump after their second and final debate at Broward College on Wednesday in Davie, Florida. Photo by Wilfredo Lee-Pool/Getty Images)