Rep. Patrick Murphy, left, listen as Sen. Marco Rubio answers a question during their Senate debate, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. | AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Specter of Trump looms large over Rubio-Murphy debate

DAVIE, Fla. — Midway through what might be his last U.S. Senate debate with Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Patrick Murphy wasn’t content to just talk about body cameras and criminal justice reform Wednesday night as the topic turned to minorities and community policing.

It was time to talk about Donald Trump. Again.


“What we can’t do is have presidential candidates like Donald Trump, who are the most racist bigoted people ever to run for office,” Murphy said, once again ripping on the GOP presidential candidate that Rubio refuses to un-endorse.

Rubio had a one-liner ready as a response.

“This is now the fifth time. Basically, the answer to every question tonight by Congressman Murphy is Donald Trump,” said Rubio, accusing Murphy of having a platform that was simply “a noun, a verb and Donald Trump.”

But Murphy, who invoked Trump's name within a minute of his opening remarks, clearly believes the controversial former reality TV star might be the key to toppling his better-funded and better-known Republican opponent, who leads him in the polls.

Trump, after all, has haunted Rubio for more than a year.

During the GOP presidential race, Trump branded Rubio as “Little Marco,” clashed with the senator on the primary debate stage and ultimately bested Rubio in his home state of Florida on March 15, after which Rubio left the presidential race.

Three months later, Rubio decided to run for reelection to his Senate seat. But he was concerned that he would have to frequently answer for Trump’s penchant for inflammatory language, which could crater the chances of the Republican presidential nominee as well as Rubio’s own chances at another six-year term.

So far, Rubio’s worries have been half-right in Florida. On the campaign trail and at last week’s debate in Orlando, and Wednesday’s debate in Davie, Rubio has been at pains to distance himself from Trump, who is losing to Democrat Hillary Clinton in most Florida polls.

But Rubio still appears to be winning.

Unwilling to jettison Trump entirely — and risk alienating his rabid band of supporters — Rubio on Wednesday night and at the first debate has tried to make the Senate race a referendum on his accomplishments and what he says are Murphy’s lack of them.

Rubio ticked off his accomplishments — more money for Everglades restoration, fighting human trafficking and opposing “slum lords” from Riviera Beach to Jacksonville — and said Murphy has been in Congress for “four years and nobody’s even noticed.”

Murphy soon responded by taking issue with Rubio’s poor record in missing more votes in the U.S. Senate than any other Florida senator in recent times.

“We all know he never shows up to work, but when he does, he has a 98 percent voting record with the Koch brothers, a right-wing special interest group,” Murphy said, taking credit for legislation that helped citrus farmers, Everglades restoration and veterans issues.

Rubio said Murphy was taking credit for legislation that would have passed without him. And he swiped at Murphy for allegedly inflating his résumé. Murphy said he hadn’t.

“If you voted as much as you lied, you might actually be a decent senator,” Murphy said in accusing Rubio of using the Senate as a stepping stone to run for president again in 2020.

The debate wasn’t all about Trump, politics and ambition.

When asked about raising the future Social Security retirement age for those who are in their 40s now, Rubio said it was necessary.

“For younger workers there’s going to have to be some smaller changes or it won’t exist,” Rubio said.

Asked how he would protect Social Security without cutting benefits or raising the retirement age, Murphy said he supports raising the income level that's taxed for Social Security, or payroll tax. Incomes above $127,200 in 2017 will not pay any additional tax. The current cap is $118,500.

“He said Social Security and Medicare have ‘weakened us as a people,’” said Murphy, accusing Rubio of wanting to privatize Medicare.

Rubio also denied that he said Social Security and Medicare “weakened us as a people” in 2011. He said he was talking about the debt. However, news reports and video of his remarks at the time indicate Rubio was also discussing the social costs of having government assume care for people that used to be provided by family members.

Staying on health care, Murphy accused Rubio of being at fault for raising the costs of Obamacare premiums by blocking a special type of subsidy payment to insurers designed to help them offer plans under the Affordable Care Act. Rubio called the payments a “bailout” and said it was wrong to provide taxpayer money to big insurance companies.

Asked what he would replace Obamacare with, Rubio said he wanted to make it easier for employers to incentivize their workers to buy tax-free plans or to give people tax credits to purchase plans. For those who have pre-existing conditions, Rubio said “the government should step in” and help provide coverage through “high-risk pools.”

“That plan you just put forward, senator, has been tried in 35 states. And it failed in all 35 states,” Murphy said. “It adds billions to the deficit. It makes it more expensive and drops people from their plans.”

Rubio pressed Murphy to answer his question: “Why is it right for you, the American taxpayer, to have to bail out private insurance companies? … These companies are making record profits.”

Murphy didn’t have time to answer as the debate moderators shifted the topic to their views on appointing a new Supreme Court justice and whether they’d vote to authorize ground troops in Syria.

Rubio said he would consider such a military plan if it made sense. He previously opposed President Barack Obama’s war plan for Syria, but said he did so because it amounted to feckless “pinpricks.”

Murphy said the key to fighting terrorists and checking Syria’s President Bashar Assad and his Russian ally Vladimir Putin is to support the United States’ allies.

Then Murphy went to Trump, and accused the Republican presidential candidate of wanting “to tear up those alliances. That’s not going to strengthen us. … You’ve got to be able to stand up to people like Donald Trump if you care about our national security.”

Rubio then accused Murphy of misspeaking about the presence of Kurdish forces, known as Peshmerga, in Syria.

“Congressman there are no Pesh merga in Syria. The Peshmerga are Iraqi,” Rubio said.

Murphy cut in: “Yes and they are helping us fight.”

Rubio: “in Iraq, not in Syria. The Syrian Kurds, in fact, don’t get along with the Iraqi Kurds.”

Rubio then turned the debate to Murphy’s presidential candidate, Clinton, and pointed out she was secretary of state when Syria began to destabilize.

When the topic turned to criminal justice, both Rubio and Murphy said more needs to be done to prevent racial profiling. Again, Murphy raised Trump as an issue. Murphy avoided talking about Trump when the two sparred over raising the mandatory minimum wage (Rubio opposes it, Murphy supports it).

But Trump once again surfaced as a topic when the candidates were asked about the U.S. government's decision, for the first time ever, to abstain from voting on the United Nations continuing resolution that opposes the U.S. embargo of Cuba.

Murphy said he supported “targeted” sanctions of the Castro regime but opposes the embargo. Rubio pointed out that Obama’s administration lifted some of those sanctions recently by allowing U.S. “remittance” money to flow to Castro regime officials.

Rubio said Obama has allowed a “one-way” deal that doesn’t require the Cuban government to provide for human rights, to stop Medicare fraudsters from ripping off U.S. taxpayers before moving back to the island or to require the Castro government to turn over a convicted U.S. cop killer who’s a fugitive in Cuba.

Enter the specter of Trump.

“Just this very weekend, Donald Trump was on a Sunday morning show here in Miami. And when asked about violating the Cuban embargo, he basically admitted that he did it,” Murphy said. “And you continue to stand by his side … What’s it going to take for you to un-endorse Donald Trump?”

Rubio: "That’s bizarre. Congressman Murphy, you’re criticizing Donald Trump for supporting a position that you have. You support lifting the embargo."

Murphy: “I’m criticizing you for not having the courage, senator. You have no backbone.”

Wednesday night's debate was broadcast live on television stations and public radio stations throughout the state.

UPDATED at 9:40 p.m. with more quotes from debate.