He will win because it's Florida. I don't agree it is a competitive state, it is a red strong hold.
Pundit or no pundit, if you watch the entire debate, it is obvious he had his lunch handed to him but as I mentioned he will still win.
I think you are forcing the point about red strong hold. DeSantis won the 2018 Florida Governor's race 49.6% to Gillum 49.2% (definitely not a moderate). He's solidified his popularity through his first term.
There's an odd and bizarre strategy both parties seem to be employing in competitive states. The state candidates start to sound a lot like the national party. In the recent past, Florida Democrats won elections and were considered moderates on Capital Hill. Now you might think current Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Christ is a moderate, but he's known for being an opportunist who has recently has had to acquiesce to the Left.
By the way, most of the media thinks Democrats always win the debate. If you hear the things you want to here from a candidate, you're going to be influenced by your views. Donald Trump did well in some debates and did poorly in others. He never sounded like the rogue that he was. Even Biden performed fairly well in the 2020 debates even if he sounded too scripted to me.
Rubio didn't really have to "win" the debate. He just needed to do an adequate job. I presume he didn't have a lapse where he repeated himself five times. Rubio is not a dynamic debater. I will actually watch the DeSantis-Crist debate. I think DeSantis will be a good debater and he's clearly a national candidate. Crist is no slouch either.
