by Joseph Weber
The lone debate next week between Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democrat challenger Charlie Crist has been postponed due to the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
The announcement was made Thursday by the debate host, local news station WPEC News 12, according to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.
The TV station says it is working with both campaigns to reschedule the debate, which was set for Wednesday.
“The move to postpone the debate is meant to ensure all Floridians have an opportunity to adequately recover from the storm and watch the debate,” the station wrote on its website.
Crist campaign manager Austin Durrer confirmed efforts to reschedule, saying “We are working with the event host and Gov. DeSantis’s team to reschedule the debate as soon as possible.
“We’re the third largest state and a purple one at that, voters deserve to see both candidates on stage, with a statewide audience, discussing their records and vision for moving Florida forward. I think we’ll have good news to report shortly.”
The DeSantis campaign did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
The storm, which hit Florida last week as a Category 4 hurricane, is also causing other problems related to Nov. 8 balloting, including challenges for the Postal Service to send mail-in ballots and the state having enough undamaged or adequately repaired polling stations.
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Joseph Weber comes to JusttheNews after covering national politics for Fox News since 2011.
Photo “Charlie Crist” by Charlie Crist.
