Rubio challenges Murphy to six debates

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday morning challenged his opponent for Senate, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), to six debates ahead of the November general election.

{mosads}Following Rubio’s and Murphy’s respective primary victories on Tuesday night, the GOP senator issued a debate request similar to the one from his 2010 Senate race and requested that at least one of the debates be sponsored by a Spanish-language outlet.

“In 2010, all three candidates for the U.S. Senate — Kendrick Meek, Charlie Crist and myself — agreed that Floridians deserved a discussion and debate about the future of our state and nation that went beyond 30-second ads and TV news soundbites,” Rubio wrote in a letter to Murphy, according to Politico. “To that end, we all agreed to a series of live televised debates — six in all — hosted by various media outlets.”

Murphy’s campaign quickly released a statement in which the Florida Democrat accepted the request and then immediately hammered Rubio for saying he can’t commit to serving an entire six-year term.

“His ‘challenge’ today is nothing more than a desperate attempt to try and change the campaign narrative from the fact that he abandoned Florida,” Murphy said. “I have a counter challenge: Senator Rubio, commit to serving a six-year term.

“Clearly, Marco Rubio doesn’t understand that campaigning and debating isn’t governing. Floridians deserve better than Marco Rubio, and that difference will be on display in the upcoming debates, including the Leadership Florida debate on October 26.”

In an interview earlier this week with CNN, Rubio would not commit to serving his full six-year term if reelected. “No one can make that commitment because you don’t know what the future’s gonna hold in your life personally or politically,” he said.

Florida’s Senate race will likely be pivotal in determining which party controls the upper chamber next year.

Rubio goes into the high-profile race with significant name recognition after unsuccessfully running for president earlier this year. He’s also enjoying a lead in the polls over Murphy, and he even outperforms Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in some surveys.

While the Florida primaries winded down on Tuesday night, the race has already grown increasingly contentious, with both candidates lobbing attacks at each other on a host of issues.

Political observers in the state expect the race to be tight and largely hinge on voter turnout and what happens at the top of the ticket.