Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke Beto O'RourkeJimmy Carter says his son smoked pot with Willie Nelson on White House roof O'Rourke endorses Kennedy for Senate: 'A champion for the values we're most proud of' 2020 Democrats do convention Zoom call MORE did not give an answer about whether he would support a top marginal individual tax rate of 70 percent, after being asked twice if he would support such a rate by the moderators at the first debate.

The first question moderators asked the former Texas congressman was about whether he would support a top individual rate of 70 percent — an idea floated by freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezOn The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline McCarthy says there will be a peaceful transition if Biden wins Anxious Democrats amp up pressure for vote on COVID-19 aid MORE (D-N.Y.).

O'Rourke responded by saying "this economy has got to work for everyone, and right now we know that it isn't." He then spoke in Spanish.

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WATCH: Beto O'Rourke delivers his first #DemDebate response in English and Spanish. pic.twitter.com/xxZSvvYTyq — MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 27, 2019

When the moderators asked O'Rourke a second time if he supports a 70 percent marginal rate, he again didn't directly answer the question. However, he did say that he wants to tax capital at the same rates as labor and wants to raise the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

"You would generate the revenues you would need to pay for the programs we're talking about," he said.

President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE's tax-cut law slashed the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. The O'Rourke-proposed corporate rate of 28 percent is the same corporate tax rate that the Obama administration backed.

Several minutes later in the debate, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Bill de BlasioOVERNIGHT ENERGY: California seeks to sell only electric cars by 2035 | EPA threatens to close New York City office after Trump threats to 'anarchist' cities | House energy package sparks criticism from left and right EPA threatens to close New York City office after Trump threats to 'anarchist' cities New Year's Eve in Times Square to be largely virtual amid pandemic MORE said that Democrats are "supposed to be for a 70 percent tax rate on the wealthy."

- updated at 9:46 p.m.