Debbie Mucarsel-Powell says Rick Scott ‘terrified’ of Senate debate

The Democratic nominee for Senate is stepping up her recent debate challenge to incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell now says the first-term Republican from Naples is scared to face her on stage.

“Floridians deserve a senator who will show up and answer for their record — something that Rick Scott is terrified to do,” Mucarsel-Powell said.

“Scared Scott knows he won’t be able to defend 14 years of failure and an extreme agenda on the debate stage in front of the millions of Floridians who continue to suffer under his dangerous policies. But Rick Scott can’t hide behind press releases and scripted appearances forever, and while he’s running scared, I’ll continue traveling the state to meet with voters about protecting affordable health care, tackling the property insurance crisis, and protecting our freedoms.”

This is the second time this month the Democrat has tried to get Scott to commit to a debate.

Last week, her campaign formalized its request for a “Spanish language statewide televised debate hosted in Florida to address the issues important to the Latino community in Florida and meet as many voters as possible where they are.”

Mucarsel-Powell is open to debates on WPBF in West Palm Beach, WFLA in Tampa and WJXT in Jacksonville.

Scott’s campaign is still considering committing to those options and/or a Spanish language debate.

Polls say the Senator leads on average by 4.3 points. Mucarsel-Powell has yet to lead in any public survey.