@PatriciaMazzei
Democratic congressional challenger Joe Garcia has accepted seven debate invitations, his campaign said Wednesday, but only three so far overlap with the five debates Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo has said he'll participate in.
Both candidates have said yes to an Oct. 13 debate at their Miami alma mater, Belen Jesuit High School, to an Oct. 17 Key West forum organized by the Hometown PAC, and to a Nov. 1 América TeVé debate in Spanish.
The other invitations Garcia accepted were: an Oct. 20 Kendall Federation of Homeowners Association forum; an Oct. 27 League of Women Voters and WLRN forum; and a date-to-be-determined Mega TV debate in Spanish.
"South Florida families deserve to know why their representative in Washington opposes a minimum wage increase and equal pay for equal work -- or why Congressman Curbelo tried to cut nearly $100 billion from college Pell Grants, supports offshore oil drilling and fracking,and voted to take away the healthcare of millions of people," Garcia said in a statement. "I proudly stand by my record of service to this community and Curbelo will have to stand by his anti-immigrant, anti-environment, anti-women and anti-seniors record as well."
Garcia's acceptances come as a poll conducted for his campaign shows the race for Florida's 26th congressional district -- one of the most competitive in the country -- to be essentially tied. The survey, by Expedition Strategies, showed Garcia edging Curbelo by 47-46 percent among likely voters, with an error margin of 4.83 percent. Garcia's lead grew to 48 percent over Curbelo's 40 percent after pollsters tested positive and negative messages about both candidates.
Last week, Curbelo announced his intentions to take part in five debates. The other three on his list were: an Oct. 3 The Weekly and Marathon Chamber of Commerce forum; an Oct. 23 ABC-WPLG Local 10 "This Week in South Florida" debate, and an Oct. 28 Univision "Al Punto Florida" debate. The last one would be in Spanish. His campaign said Wednesday it had also said yes to América TeVé.
"My opponent and I could not be more different personally, ethically, and politically, and I'm excited for voters to have the opportunity to see how clear their choice is through these debates and forum," Curbelo said in a Sept. 20 statement. "While my opponent hides behind vitriolic language and political gimmicks intended to mislead voters, I have been focused on bipartisan solutions to strengthen the economy, improve public education, secure over $10 billion in transportation and infrastructure for Florida, improve water quality and accelerate Everglades restoration, find common ground on immigration, support our military's efforts to defeat terrorists, and keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists."
Curbelo and Garcia know each other well as debate opponents, having faced off several times in English and Spanish when Curbelo challenged then-U.S. Rep. Garcia two years ago. The exchanges exposed a number of policy differences between the candidates, and often involved acrimonious attacks.
The Oct. 17 Key West both men have agreed to falls on the same day as a statewide televised debate in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy.
The Oct. 13 Belen debate listed WFOR-CBS 4 as its partner in Curbelo's acceptance list, but the school has since changed course. The moderator will be ABC News' Tom Llamas -- another Belen alumnus.
The Nov. 1 América TeVé debate will take place a week before Election Day, when many voters will have already cast ballots early.
This post has been updated to reflect that Curbelo's campaign has also accepted the América TeVé debate invitation.
Photo credit: Pedro Portal, el Nuevo Herald
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