WATCH THE DEBATE – CNN
Tonight in Tampa there will be a debate between Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and his Republican challenger Ron DeSantis that will air nationally. CNN’s Jake Tapper will host the one-hour face-to-face beginning at 8 p.m. ET, from the WEDU studios in Tampa.
It should prove to be the polished Gillum taking on the scorched earth style of DeSantis. He is likely to spend more time attacking Gillum rather than touting his own record.
“DeSantis is going to call me a socialist. He’s going to call me corrupt. He’s going to throw his covered-up versions of racial epithets. He’s going to call me anti-Israel,” Gillum said, comparing his opponent to President Donald Trump, whose endorsement DeSantis rode to victory in the August primary
“If I have to measure my opponent by his actions up to this point, it is probably going to be a gutter conversation, and I’ll try my best to keep it above board,” Gillum told reporters after a campaign rally in Riviera Beach.
While, DeSantis who is a disciple of President Donald Trump has aired strongly negative ads about Gillum, he has yet to offer any idea of what his positions on the issues.
This week President Trump went after Gillum on his favorite platform Twitter. The President attacked the Mayor of Tallahassee, as he was in the middle of cleaning up his city after Hurricane Michael had devastated it just a little over a week ago.
“It is disappointing to see the commander in chief attack a community the same week when we are recovering from a Category 4 hurricane that came through,” Gillum said. “The truth is I have no leadership expectations of the president.”
“If Mr. DeSantis continues running this race like it is … this is likely to end up in a Trump-style conversation where facts are rare and the conversation remains low,” Gillum said. “I am going to do my part to keep it high.”
On Saturday morning, though, the Republican got another boost from Trump, who tweeted his support — and an attack on Gillum.
“DeSantis is working hard. A great Congressman and top student at Harvard & Yale, Ron will be a record setting governor for Florida. Rick Scott gave him tremendous foundations to further build on,” Trump said. “His opponent runs one of the worst & most corrupt cities in USA!”