The U.S. Senate race between Florida Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson and his GOP challenger Connie Mack IV is theoretically for control of the entire Senate in 2013 and beyond. But it's never felt too important, as the campaign has mostly been fought through a series of negative television commercials.
There was anticipation leading up to the candidates' one and only debate, which took place Wednesday night at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and was televised statewide.
It was not a great debate. The candidates spoke a little about their respective policies, but spent most of the time criticizing each other, sometimes in personal terms.
Trailing in most of the polls, Mack was the aggressor from the get-go. Beginning in his opening statement and repeating it like a mantra for the entire hour, the Fort Myers-based Representative pounded Nelson for taking $700 billion out of Medicare, "gutting" the military, and voting to raise taxes 150 times during his lengthy political career.
"150 times?" Mack repeated. "It's time for you to go." (PolitiFact rated the charge false.)
This article appears in Oct 11-17, 2012.