MIRAMAR — Florida voters have a choice between a liar and a do-nothing in November's U.S. Senate election.

At least, that's what the candidates say.

In their first debate, Democrat incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson and his Republican challenger Gov. Rick Scott, continued to come back to those two themes.

"Whatever he says, is simply not true,” Nelson said of Scott, pointing out that independent fact-checking sites have rated Scott's nine campaign ads as false.

"He's been there 42 years" and has gotten nothing done, Scott said of Nelson's 12 years in the Senate and another 12 years he served in the U.S. House back in the '70s and '80s.

Here's how they weighed in on the issues:

Immigration

The debate was by Telemundo 51/WSCV, a Spanish-language TV station in Miami and kicked off with a question as what to do about the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., including the 900,000 living in Florida.

Nelson called for a comprehensive immigration reform bill like the one he supported in 2013, that would have created a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. That bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support but did not make it out of the House.

Scott didn't lay out any specific plans, but did call for protection for immigrants brought here as children. "That (child) didn't come here on their own. Their parents bought them. We got to take care of the ... kids."

Gun control

Nelson said he supported a ban on assault weapons like the one used in the Parkland and Pulse nightclub shootings. "We ought to get the assault rifles off the street," he said "We ought to pass a comprehensive background check, a universal and comprehensive background check like the one that I have voted on. And until we do that, we are going to continue to have the problems that we're having."

More:Brevard Rep. Randy Fine to file bills to repeal gun control from Parkland law

Scott pointed to legislation that he signed in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That bill raised the age to buy rifles in Florida to 21, banned "bump stocks," and put more money into school security.

"And in contrast to Senator Nelson, who has never gotten anything done with regard to creating school safety, we actually did something. ... We sat down with students, law enforcement, mental health counselors. And within three weeks after the Parkland shooting, we passed a comprehensive bill. We're going to have law enforcement in all of our schools, more mental health counselors in our schools."

Family incomes

Asked what they would do to boost the income of Florida's families, which are 12 percent below the national average, Scott said the answer was maintaining job growth in the state.

"Now we have about 250,000 job openings in the state," he said. "Wages are going up. Our job growth rate is 60 percent faster than the rest of the country. That's how wages are going to continue to grow."

Nelson countered that the jobs being created in Florida are low-wage ones and that he favored a higher minimum wage.

"What I would do is raise the minimum wage to $12 at least, if not $15, to raise the income level so people can pay for the necessities of life, and feed their families," Nelson said.

Healthcare

Noting that Florida had more people receiving health insurance through Obamacare than any other state in the nation, the moderator asked the candidates if they were in favor of repealing Obamacare and, if so, what they would replace it with.

Nelson said he continues to support Obamacare, which he voted for, and said Scott wants to do away with the law. He also attacked Scott for not taking advantage of the expanded Medicaid option under the law.

"A part of the law said it left it up to the state to increase Medicaid to a level for all of the states. That's 800,000 people in this state that are not getting health care, but for Gov. Scott not promoting and pushing in the legislature the expansion of Medicaid."

Scott called the promises made about Obamacare the "lie of the century."

But, without offering details, he said that everybody should be able to get healthcare and that there should be protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

"We have to make sure that anybody can get health care insurance," Scott said. "My opponent had plenty of time to take care of that when he was the insurance commissioner and never did."

The environment

Scott and Nelson blamed each other for the algae blooms that have plagued much of the state's coastline for weeks.

Scott pointed to the federal control of the dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee as the source of the problem. The Army Corps of Engineers periodically releases water from the lake to protect the integrity of the dike.

More:Are the toxic algae blooms along Florida's coasts making people sick?

"He has never done anything to get us the money to fix the dike at Lake Okeechobee, which is a 100 percent federal project."

Nelson said the problem was not the dike, but the pollution levels in the lake, which he blamed on the rollback of environmental regulations under Scott.

"He has systematically, in his eight years as governor, systematically disassembled the environmental agencies of this state," Nelson said. He has drained the water management districts of funding."

Hurricane Maria

Both Nelson and Scott have been critical of FEMA's handling of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and defended their efforts to help with the island's recovery.

"We sent National Guard, we sent highway patrol," Scott said. "We actually donated highway patrol cars. We opened up relief centers and we organized state, federal, and local resources, along with non-for-profits at the Orlando Airport and then Miami Port. We did waivers so they could get into our school system. We got them in-state tuition for a higher education system."

More:FEMA admits shortcomings in 2017 hurricane response

Nelson noted that he had just been endorsed by Puerto Rico's governor and added that Scott was at first supportive of how President Trump handled recovery efforts.

"Now, my opponent has said when down there in Puerto Rico, 'What would you have done differently?' And he said, quote, I would not have done anything differently. I think that pretty well tells you about the treatment of the people from Puerto Rico."

Brett Kavanaugh

Nelson said he would vote no on Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court.

"I'm hopeful that the FBI investigation is going to bring circumstances to light. But the judge in his response, there was just not the temperament that is needed of what you want to put someone on the highest court in the land."

Scott called the confirmation process a circus.

"You know, if you look at — if you take all of the evidence together and you look at Judge Kavanaugh's record as a judge —, I'm going to continue to support Judge Kavanaugh.

Nelson, who was first elected to the Senate in 2000 and is seeking his fourth six-year term. Scott, a former health-executive who first ran for office when he when he was elected governor in 2010, can seek re-election because of term limits.

The two have agreed to two more debates before election day.

Contact McCarthy at jmccarthy@floridatoday.com or 321-752-5018.