US Midterms: DeSantis, Crist Face Off in Heated Debate

Facts

• Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and his Democratic challenger former Rep. Charlie Crist debated topics including abortion, Hurricane Ian, "culture wars," and DeSantis's future political ambitions on Monday in their only public debate to date.
• The economy and rising inflation were also major points of contention between the two candidates, with DeSantis saying that Pres. Joe Biden and the Democrats were the main cause of economic stress.
• Crist repeatedly suggested that DeSantis was more interested in running for president in 2024 than governing Fla. — asking DeSantis multiple times if he would run for president, to which DeSantis didn't reply. The moderator noted that the candidates had agreed not to ask each other questions.
• Regarding immigration, Crist criticized DeSantis's decision to send migrants from Texas to Martha's Vinyard, though he conceded that there was a "problem" at the southern border. In response, DeSantis argued that the spike in migration to the US was a result of the policies Crist supported in Congress.
• Overall, Crist attempted to paint himself as a unifier while portraying DeSantis as a divisive politician in line with former Pres. Trump. In turn, DeSantis portrayed Crist's policies as being no different than Biden's, who he blamed for many of the country's current problems.
• DeSantis has raised more money for his political campaign than any other governor in US history.

Sources: CNN, FOX News, New York Times, CBS, Business Insider, and Daily Wire.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. It's obvious that Ron DeSantis dominated the debate against Charlie Crist, who could hardly keep up with DeSantis's charismatic style. Crist is having such a hard time raising money for his campaign that he solicited donations from the victims of Hurricane Ian. Simply put, Crist is not a leader, and given DeSantis's comfortable lead in both fundraising and polling, he will likely win an easy victory.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Daily Kos. Though the odds that Crist will win are slim, he put on a good performance during the debate and rightfully portrayed DeSantis as a Trumpish Republican who is more interested in theatrics and potentially running for president than he is in governing Florida. DeSantis, much like his idol, former Pres. Trump, has consistently compromised the lives of millions of Floridians for his cruel political stunts.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by NBC. This debate was an unfortunate reminder of how ugly the US's political culture has become. DeSantis and Crist traded insults, precooked one-liners, and talking points as each side’s supporters in the audience awkwardly howled in derision of the other candidate and approval of their own.

Predictions