Jacob Ogles
Did U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio skip out on a debate for a “fun & sun” trip to South Beach with political donors?
At one point, the first Senate debate between Rubio and Democratic challenger Val Demings was supposed to happen Oct. 11. Less than a month before a nationally watched Senate contest that could determine control of Congress’ upper chamber, the plan had been to bring the candidates together on stage for a televised debate hosted by WFTV, WJAX and Bethune-Cookman.
While Demings announced on Sept. 14 that she had accepted an invitation to the debate, Rubio, the Republican incumbent, never did. Meanwhile, a political invite from a Super PAC he founded advertised he would attend a three-day fundraiser at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach.
Rubio and Demings will face one another in a televised debate, the Before You Vote Florida event scheduled for Oct. 18 at Palm Beach State College. But that appears to be the only time both candidates will square off on stage before the Nov. 8 vote.
Devon Cruz, a spokesperson for Demings campaign, said the Democratic campaign expected the Oct. 11 debate to occur. The campaign announced a willingness as well to attend a debate hosted by Spectrum News, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times in October. He’s not sure the reasoning as to why only one debate was agreed to in the end.
“I just know the only one he (Rubio) agreed to was on Oct. 18,” Cruz said.
But Rubio spokesperson Elizabeth Gregory gave a different account. “No, they cancelled it,” she said via email, unclear as to “they” were.
Karen Park, marketing executive director for Bethune Cookman University, referred questions about debate negotiations to the campaigns. “The teams for Demings/Rubio would have to answer that for you,” she said in an email.
Meanwhile, the Reclaim America PAC, launched by Rubio in 2011, advertised Rubio’s attendance somewhere else.
“Please join Senator Marco Rubio for some fun & sun in South Beach,” reads an online invitation from the committee. That sought attendees for a three-day event at The Ritz-Carlton South Beach from Oct. 9 to 11, and charged $2,500 for PACs and $1,500 for individuals.
Gregory, when asked if the cancellation applied to the debate or the fundraiser, replied “the debate.” Asked if the campaign had any records of the debate being canceled by organizers, she answered “No it was a phone call.”
The campaign did not answer questions about when the Reclaim America PAC was originally scheduled. It also did not make clear which organizers were responsible for canceling the debate, provided no reason for the cancellation and would not say when the campaign learned of the decision. The campaign also did not answer directly if Rubio ended up attending the fundraiser.
After the original version of this story published, Gregory told Florida Politics the fundraiser did not overlap with the proposed time of the debate.
“You asked a bunch of questions, but not one of them was, ‘Did the (now cancelled) debate overlap with a fundraiser?’ The answer to that is no,” Gregory wrote. “But clearly you’re more interested in constructing a narrative that suits your goals than you are finding out the truth.”
Notably, since Demings first accepted an invitation to the event, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28, and Rubio attended a presidential visit with President Joe Biden to hard-struck areas of Lee County on Oct. 5. Rubio has since tweeted pictures of himself at various hurricane recovery events around the state, but none since Oct. 8, a day before the South Beach event was set to start.
22 comments
PeterH
October 11, 2022 at 5:54 pm
Abstaining from debates, gerrymandering, voter suppression, cultural wars, racist dog whistles, controlling women’s reproductive health decisions and irrational gun legalization are all weapons in the Republican arsenal to win elections.
REPUBLICANS ARE AMERICA’S PROBLEM!
VOTE ALL REPUBLICANS OUT OF OFFICE!
Impeach Biden
October 11, 2022 at 5:59 pm
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz avoids debates. That is okay with you right? Val can’t defend the disaster of the Biden administration. I”m sure Marco has her pro Pelosi voting record. That will go over well with Florida voters. Not!
Joe Corsin
October 11, 2022 at 6:12 pm
The Biden administration is not “a disaster.” We’ve been hearing this exaggerated nonsense ever since Obama was president. This all the while you idiots vote for liars and criminals. You people are the biggest clowns in human history…need a new gig..new bit. Current one is worn out cheese ball nonsense.
Impeach Biden
October 11, 2022 at 7:49 pm
Watching tv news right now and they are showing all the lies, plagiarism, BS stories and on that Joe “Jose” Biden has done over the years. You voted for that idiot, not me.
Joe Corsin
October 11, 2022 at 9:43 pm
Your party is now a far right party and hated here and abroad. Only wealthy grifters, half dead people from The Villages, and trailer park terrorists now support this 20 year disaster called the GOP. And all you have to say is Biden is terrible? Jesus Christ lay off the pills and booze…
Tired of Republican deflection
October 12, 2022 at 7:57 pm
The Biden administration has accomplished more to directly benefit the average American in two years and the Republicans have in four.
Estimated Deficit Reduction of $1.7 Trillion for 2nd Year
Lowest Child Poverty rate in history
Allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices
$380 Billion investment in Clean Energy
$30 Billion in support of Ukraine against Russia
Renewed Veterans Burn Pit Healthcare bill
Killing Al Qaeda #1 Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Firearms and Gun Safety Bill
What have the Republicans actually done to improve lives of anyone in recent decades?
.
Tjb
October 13, 2022 at 1:23 pm
Two wrongs make a right? Rubio is a scared little man that wants to dismantle social security and medicare for our children and grandchildren and sadly it is not political suicide to his base.
Ocean Joe
October 14, 2022 at 8:20 pm
You should be glad she avoids debates. You want to look at her?
Mack Newcastle
October 16, 2022 at 6:21 pm
I agree, Republicans have become so irrational, disconnected and actually anti-American, I hardly recognize this Party. Of course, I like any common sense Voter blame tRump. How he has high jacked the Republican Party is very disappointing. When will the GOP wake up
and realize all the damage tRump has leveled on this once Great Institution.
Tom
October 11, 2022 at 9:55 pm
Nothing story.
Meaningless, shameful.
Charlie Crist
October 11, 2022 at 11:00 pm
Tropical 2 swirling ocean typhooncane????
Tom
October 12, 2022 at 8:11 am
Biden worst POTUS since Herbert Hoover, and this chinese troll says economy is fine.
It’s horrendous. What a idiot Joey corsin.
Ocean Joe
October 14, 2022 at 8:32 pm
Tommy dislikes Sleepy Joe so much he has to dig up an old Republican to compare him to.
Judi Z
October 17, 2022 at 9:35 pm
So a liar, cheat, insurrectionist, philanderer, corrupt, etc., etc., made a better potus? We were hated around the world and we’re losing allies, while #tfg was “in bed” with dictators guilty of crimes against humanity. This sounds like cognitive dissonance….
jennl
October 12, 2022 at 1:19 pm
I was a democrat until I saw how much hatred the party carries for those with different opinions. I am now a right leaning independent and will be voting for Rubio & DeSantis. Dems really fumbled the bag with covid response. Lockdowns and mandatory vaccines were your downfall. VOTE RED 2022
RJ
October 12, 2022 at 4:11 pm
#Russian much?
Miriam Henoch
October 13, 2022 at 12:45 pm
Yes, jennl, vaccines saved lives, while you helped kill people with your stupid and failed effort to promote non vaccination. Hope you will enjoy your new fascist, dictator, autocratic regime, if God forbid, you Maga nuts prevail.
Ocean Joe
October 14, 2022 at 8:29 pm
You were never a Democrat.
Rubio and Desantis both ran out and got vaccinated.
60,000 Floridians died and more die even now.
Recruiting and overpaying a covid denier is malfeasance.
Silencing the former Surgeon General is how our governor reacts to folks with different opinions.
My Republican run county shut the road down to keep folks out despite great cost to our local economy.
My Republican run county is packed with old folks.
It was the right thing to do.
If you haven’t got your vaccine ask yourself why all your new party leaders did.
Ask why the Ocean Reefers and that neighborhood in SW Florida jumped the line.
Enough nonsense.
PJ
October 13, 2022 at 8:05 pm
As a lifelong Floridian, I am dismayed that Marco Rubio is still in office. I am praying for a blue wave that washes him and DeSantis out of our government. Then we’ll only have to get rid of Scott!
Mack Newcastle
October 16, 2022 at 6:23 pm
Amen!!!!
Yrral
October 14, 2022 at 12:03 pm
Narco Rubio Google Marco Rubio Drug Cartel
Denis Hernández
October 17, 2022 at 8:34 pm
Ya basta de Marcos Rubio, es un individuo que defiende los intereses de los fabricantes de armas, de las rebajas de impuestos para los más millonarios, de desarticular los beneficios del Seguro Social, y está listo para votar en contra de todas las leyes que se han logrado a favor de la inflación, el mefio ambiente y contra los soñadores.
Lo único que hace es engañar diciendo que los comunistas van a tomar el poder, cuando en realidad con sus votos y actuaciones a mantenido al régimen cubano, que a su vez mantiene a las otras dictaduras latinoamericanas; recordemos que cuando asumió por primera vez como Senador, la directiva del Senado lo obligó a cambiar su biografía, ya que escribió que sus padres fueron perseguidos políticos , cuando en realidad emigraron voluntariamente después de estar viajando llevando divisas a Cuba, cuando Fidel Castro se apoderó del poder.
Necesitamos una Senadora con Val Demings para que defienda nuestros intereses.
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