Florida governor candidates Andrew Gillum, Ron DeSantis talk climate change, race, in Tampa debate

Ron DeSantis and Andrew Gillum.
(Image credit: Chris O'Meara-Pool/Getty Images)

Florida's gubernatorial candidates — Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis — faced off in a debate Sunday in Tampa, moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper, and they touched on everything from race to climate change to school safety.

On the environment and climate change: DeSantis said he "ran in the Republican primary stressing the need for clean water," but he doesn't "want to be an alarmist" on climate change, and "I want to look at this and do what makes sense for Florida." Gillum said when he's elected, Floridians will "have a governor who believes in science, which we haven't had for quite some time in this state." After DeSantis said Gillum wants to enact a "California-style energy policy," he responded, "I'm not so sure what's so California about believing that the state of Florida ought to lead in solar energy. We're known as the Sunshine State."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.