GOP's Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum clash during televised Florida governor debate

Ana Ceballos | Naples

Show Caption Hide Caption Five Things to Know About the Florida Governor's Race Republican Ron DeSantis will face Democrat Andrew Gillum in Florida's race for governor.

Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum spent much of their first hourlong gubernatorial debate taking jabs at each other, with DeSantis calling his opponent a failed Tallahassee mayor and Gillum labeling his GOP challenger a "stooge" for President Donald Trump.

The two, who met for the first time Sunday, debated before a national audience on the CNN broadcast the day before Floridians begin early voting and 16 days before the Nov. 6 election for governor.

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Within the first couple of minutes, DeSantis came out swinging during his opening statement — something Floridians had yet to see him do other than on television ads.

“Look, Andrew is a failed mayor. He’s presided over a crime-ridden city. He is involved in corruption. He is not the guy to lead our state,” DeSantis said. “I’ve worn the uniform. I’ve protected our communities. And I will protect Florida’s future.”

The retired Navy prosecutor then pointed to the city’s crime rate to argue why Gillum “failed the city of Tallahassee,” a jab the mayor quickly rebutted.

“I preside right now over a city that is experiencing a 5-year-low crime rate and we are on track on having a 20-year-low crime rate. Those are the facts,” Gillum said.

In one of the sharpest exchanges, DeSantis called Gillum a “corrupt” politician, implying the mayor took free Broadway tickets during a trip to New York. The trip has haunted Gillum, who has said he is not a target of an ongoing federal public corruption investigation.

“I am not under an FBI investigation and neither is my city government,” Gillum said. “What we have done is we welcome them in and if someone has done something wrong, they will be held fully accountable for their actions.”

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DeSantis questioned Gillum’s association with lobbyist Adam Corey, who is a focus in the federal probe, and their trip to New York.

"We all have friends that sometimes let us down," Gillum said. "I am not under FBI investigation, and neither is my city government.”

Gillum later questioned why DeSantis will not release receipts detailing more than $145,000 of travel that he charged taxpayers for while he was in Congress.

“He won’t allow us to see those receipts,” Gillum said. “Will you also release the $145,000 in travel receipts that you took public money to go to New York City? Release them.”

“It’s all there,” DeSantis said, calling Gillum's criticism a "red herring."

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But it’s not. The USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida has repeatedly asked the congressman for the itemized receipts of his trips charged to taxpayers, but he declined. Some of those trips included trips to New York to appear on Fox News shows.

DeSantis later faced questions about comments he made during an interview after the primary, urging Floridians not to "monkey this up" by electing Gillum, who is black. The remark was criticized as racist. He was also asked about a donor who used the N-word to describe President Barack Obama and was asked why he didn't return the money.

“Because he made a mistake,” DeSantis said. “He apologized.”

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DeSantis said he would "be a governor for all Floridians," and said he has a history of not considering race when serving in the military and as a prosecutor early in his career.

Gillum argued DeSantis knew what he was doing when he made the “monkey this up” comment.

“He’s only continued in the course of his campaign to draw all the attention he can to the color of my skin. And the truth is, you know, I’m black. I’ve been black all of my life,” Gillum said. “As far as I know, I will die black.”

The candidates' relationship with Trump, who helped DeSantis win the GOP primary, was also a point of contention.

Gillum, who has called to impeach Trump, took shots at the president.

"Donald Trump is weak, and he performs as all weak people do. They become bullies," Gillum said. He said DeSantis cares too much about what Trump thinks. "He's his stooge," Gillum said.

But Gillum said he would work with Trump if he's elected governor.

“This is a democracy. We can dissent. We can disagree. If you want to look for an example, you can look at how Gov. Rick Scott and I worked together in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael,” Gillum said.

DeSantis argued Florida’s relationship with the federal government would suffer if Gillum is elected.

“President Trump has so many irons in the fire. You have to make the case that is going to get quick action, and I am going to be able to do that,” DeSantis said.

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Trump tweeted minutes after the debate, saying DeSantis outshined Gillum, "a mayor who presides over one of the worst run, and most corrupt, cities in Florida. Ron will build on the great job done by Governor Rick Scott. Gillum will make Florida the next Venezuela!"

Major policy issues — including the environment, immigration, health care, criminal justice and the economy — were also covered during the debate. For the first time in months, DeSantis gave a wider glimpse into his policy platform, something Democrats have used to criticize him.

“Healthcare is the major issue on Floridians minds,” Gillum said. “We deserve to hear from the congressman exactly what his healthcare proposal is. He’s been promising one for months. Nothing has come from his office.”

DeSantis said Medicare for all, which Gillum is proposing, would "take away employer-provided coverage" and health care for seniors and veterans.

At least six polls have so far suggested the race is a toss-up yet have shown Gillum leading DeSantis within the polls' margin of error.

Hours before the debate, CNN released a poll showing Gillum with a double digit advantage over DeSantis, prompting the network’s own polling director to say the findings “could be an outlier” and DeSantis’ camp accusing CNN of “working hard to craft far left polling data.”

Months of campaigning in the general election has cemented the two candidates in their own partisan silos. Gillum has embraced a progressive message, promising to enact gun control legislation, to expand Medicaid and to raise the minimum wage to $15.

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DeSantis has cultivated a fiscal conservative persona on the campaign trail with a keen interest in protecting Scott’s “economic momentum.” DeSantis also has promoted an environmental agenda that he argues will help eliminate toxic algae blooms produced by Lake Okeechobee discharges and red tide outbreaks along the Florida coasts.

Even though the election is weeks away, Floridians have already been voting by mail. As of Oct. 18, 303,645 Democrats, 346,356 Republicans and 144,659 voters with no party affiliations have cast their votes.