Nelson, Scott quarrel over Kavanaugh, red tide in first debate

Florida’s candidates for U.S. Senate tried to brand each other in a way voters won’t like in their first debate in the 2018 midterm.

Republican Gov. Rick Scott took aim at incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s four-decade political career, painting him as a do-nothing senator who is long on Washington service and short on real accomplishments. Nelson had a comeback — don’t trust Scott.

Scott repeated several times that Nelson, who turned 76 over the weekend, is “confused” about the issues.

“It’s nice that the senator believes in things. What we all know is nothing will get done,” said Scott, 65, asserting that Nelson shows up in Florida every six years to make promises he won’t keep.

Nelson called his multimillionaire opponent a “walking conflict of interest” and questioned whether he has the “trust and integrity” to do the job.

“The governor keeps coming out with one whopper after another,” said Nelson, who is seeking a fourth term in the Senate. “Apparently you never got your mouth washed out with soap after telling a lie.” At another point, Nelson said Scott’s answers are “totally disjointed from the truth.” Nelson touted accomplishments, including helping to build Florida’s space economy and preventing oil drilling off the state’s coasts.

The debate was taped Tuesday morning at the Telemundo 51 studios in Miramar for airing in Spanish across the state and streaming in English online.

Nelson was first elected to Congress in 1978, and he has was elected to the Senate in 2000. Scott is a two-term governor. Term limits prevent him from running for a third term, so he’s challenging Nelson.

Partisan fighting over the Supreme Court’s future found its way into the debate. The candidates also clashed on the red tide and green algae blooms fouling Florida’s waters, guns, the economy, health care and immigration. One person, though, was notably absent in the candidates’ answers — President Donald Trump. Nelson and Scott did not mention him once by name.

Nelson praised Christine Blasey Ford for testifying that nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 35 years ago when they were in high school.

“She was expressing for millions of women in this country … that sexual assault has happened to them,” Nelson said. “She was doing that in front of 11 Republican men who seemed to dismiss it.”

Kavanaugh’s testimony showed he does not have the “temperament” to be on the court, Nelson said, adding that he was not granted a meeting with the nominee despite repeated requests.

Scott sought to portray Nelson as a partisan politician who was against Trump’s Supreme Court pick even before anyone was nominated. Scott tried to distance himself from Washington dysfunction, while saying he found the testimonies of Kavanaugh and Ford “convincing and pure raw emotion.”

“The way the U.S. Senate has handled this, it’s a circus,” Scott said. “It’s more like a Jerry Springer show.”

Scott said he will continue to support Kavanaugh because of his “record as a judge.”

Scott questioned why Nelson hasn’t spoken out about sexual harassment issues in his own party, referencing a $220,000 settlement to resolve harassment allegations against U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-West Delray.

The candidates also clashed over the red tide and green algae blooms fouling Florida’s waters, killing fish in the Gulf of Mexico and closing beaches on both coasts. The presence of red tide was detected this week in Palm Beach County’s coastal waters, a rare occurrence in Florida’s history.

Nelson blamed Scott for causing the environmental crisis by eliminating a state agency that checked growth in Florida and cutting funding to the state’s water management district.

“He has systemically in his eight years as governor … disassembled the environmental agencies of this state,” Nelson said.

Scott countered by saying Nelson didn’t do enough to secure federal funding to improve the Herbert Hoover Dike that holds back the waters of Lake Okeechobee. He said he made investments in Florida’s springs and the Everglades when he was governor and worked with Trump to fix the dike by 2022.

“Sen. Nelson has spent 40 years never getting money for the dike,” Scott said.

As proof he cares about the environment, Scott cited his two grandsons who just started in the Cub Scouts and are about to go on their second camping trip.

While Scott called Nelson confused, the senator hit back, saying Scott’s financial investments make him a “walking conflict of interest.” Scott, who has a net worth of $232 million, and his wife invested in a fund linked to a high-speed rail company that he has publicly supported. Earlier in his administration, Scott denied federal funding to establish high-speed rail service from Orlando to Tampa.

“This election is about integrity and trust, and, governor, there is no confusion about that,” Nelson said.

On the economy, Nelson said he would support raising the minimum wage to $12 and possibly to $15. Scott, who was elected governor 2010, said his policies turned around the state’s economy.

The candidates differed sharply on the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

Nelson said it’s brought insurance to 2 million Floridians who wouldn’t otherwise have coverage and made sure people can get health coverage even if they have pre-existing conditions. He criticized Scott for favoring repeal.

Scott said it’s brought higher prices and made it harder for people to keep their doctors. Scott became wealthy as a hospital executive; during the debate he recalled his family didn’t have health insurance when he was growing up and remember his mother crying over his brother’s health problem, which was treated at a “charity hospital.”

On immigration, Nelson said Scott ran on a hard-line stance when running for governor, backing a controversial Arizona law that charged law enforcement with stopping and checking the immigration status of residents. The law was struck down as unconstitutional. Nelson blasted the Trump administration’s embrace of a policy that separated migrant children from their parents, placing them in a shelter in Homestead.

Scott said Nelson failed to pass immigration reform during his time in office. He said he would work to protect Dreamers, who came to the United States illegally when they were children, while also securing borders and clamping down on cities that grant protections to undocumented residents.

Scott touted his support of Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria, saying he worked to grant them in-state tuition.

They differed on who has been tougher on the Castro rule in Cuba.

Nelson said he’s been so tough that the Cuban government won’t let him in the country.

Scott said Nelson was guilty of appeasement.

Hispanics are a key voting bloc that could determine the outcome of the race, which is polling in an effective tie. About 16 percent of the state’s registered voters are Hispanic.

The race is one of the tightest in the nation. The RealClearPolitics average of seven public opinion polls since the end of August, show Nelson with 46.1 percent and Scott with 45 percent. Given the margins of error in all polls, the difference of 1.1 percentage points is statistically insignificant

They ended the debate by making an appeal to voters in Spanish. Scott delivered his entire closing remarks in Spanish.

Nelson — who isn’t known for his Spanish-speaking ability — delivered part of his closing remarks in Spanish.

Both candidates have also agreed to an Oct. 16 debate on CNN. They are considering whether to have a third debate.

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