Florida Gov. Rick Scott refused to take to the stage for his debate against former Gov. Charlie Crist. It wasn’t because he was feeling ill or anything logical such as that. It was because Crist had been given an electric fan to deal with the humidity and Scott was going to be forced to go it alone.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Scott Thought Crist’s Fan Was a Violation of Debate Rules
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According to debate rules, participants are not supposed to be aided by any electronics during the arguments. Gov. Crist often uses a fan at public speaking events and clearly thought the October 15 debate at Broward College was no exception. The moderators agreed with Scott’s issues and yelled at Crist as the former Gov. stood on stage alone. When Crist tried to speak, he was reminded that the debate wasn’t a platform for one candidate.
2. After a Few Awkward Minutes, Scott Finally Went on Stage
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Eventually, Scott relented and took to the stage for the debate, ending what moderator Elliot Rodriguez called an “extremely peculiar situation.” The debate went on as normal with nobody seeming to mention the fan.
3. Scott & Crist Are Locked in a Dead Heat For Florida Governor
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The Tampa Bay Times reports that both Scott and Crist, a born again Democrat, have about 40 percent each of the vote. The libertarian candidate, Adrian Wyllie, was not included in the debate because he’s only polling around 6 percent. Interestingly, only 32 percent of the electorate think that Scott is trustworthy with just 34 percent saying the same of Crist.
4. #Fangate Quickly Became a Twitter Trend
It didn’t take long for Twitter to get a hold of #fangate:
I just not ready to move on from the fan. WTF was Rick Scott thinking? #FLGovDebate #fangate
Can the Scott adviser who suggesed he boycott debate over fan please report to spin room #FLGovDebate
5. Scott Has Spent 5 Times as Much as Crist on TV Ads
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Both Scott and Crist’s campaign funding have come under scrutiny. During the summer of 2014, Scott’s “Let’s Get to Work” project amassed nearly $30 million in funds. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Florida GOP has spent $26 million on TV ads for Scott with the DNC contributing $17.4 for Crist. In terms of their own campaigns, Scott has spent nearly a million on TV adds, five times as much as Crist has spent.
