With the Florida primary just a week away, the two Republican candidates for governor sparred Monday over who was the true conservative, who was the true heir to outgoing Gov. Jeb Bush, and which one the voters can trust.

After a tame start, Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher quickly got contentious.

But the candidates' attempts to get their messages out days before the Sept. 5 primary ran into a big problem: Ernesto.

The top three counties for Republican votes are Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, and the debate occurred as attention in South Florida focused on the approaching storm. The hour-long, prime-time event, available to NBC affiliates around the state, wasn't broadcast by WTVJ-Ch. 6.

Gallagher, who has been behind Crist in public opinion polls, was on the offensive through much of the debate, attempting to goad the frontrunner on issues that appeal to the Republican Party's conservative base. Crist refused to directly respond to Gallagher's points and came back hard at his opponent, suggesting Gallagher doesn't truly believe in the conservative causes he espouses.

"It's important for people to understand who the true conservative is in this race, and it's Charlie Crist, and I'm a Jeb Bush Republican," Crist said.

Gallagher scoffed at that assertion.

"It's hard to believe that he says he's a Jeb Bush Republican," Gallagher said. "He flips and flops all over the place on abortion."

Abortion was a central flashpoint. Gallagher said Crist's claims of being "pro-life" aren't true, and he pressed him repeatedly to say whether he'd sign legislation outlawing abortions if the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe vs. Wade, allowing states to decide the legality of the practice.

Crist responded with a long answer repeating his "pro-life" position, but he never answered the question.

"I want to you know that Charlie Crist is pro-life. It's important to respect a culture of life," Crist said. Crist said it was Gallagher who isn't truly a social conservative.

"Having flip-flopped on abortion, taxes, gun rights, and school choice, how can the people of Florida trust your recent conversion?" Crist asked. "Come on, Tom. You're no conservative, and you know it."

Many of their answers and questions to each other contained such jabs.

"How in the world can the people of Florida trust you?" Gallagher said. "You sounded just like John Kerry when they asked him the same question."

Crist later invoked an even stronger image to Republicans, asserting Gallagher had supported a "Hillary Clinton-style" health care plan.

He also said Gallagher couldn't be trusted on ethics and integrity. Citing a Florida Ethics Commission finding of probable cause that Gallagher's day trading and investments may have violated state law, Crist demanded to know how voters could trust that Gallagher wouldn't violate the law while occupying the governor's office.

Each candidate also labeled the other as a tax lover.

Gallagher said Crist couldn't be trusted to keep taxes low because Crist supports the voter-approved class size amendment, which would be expensive to implement, and supports other spending programs.

Crist said Gallagher is the one who has supported tax increases. Both said they support the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests, unlike the Democratic gubernatorial candidates. Both said they'd carry out the death penalty. Crist said his top issues are education, safety and security and keeping taxes low.

Gallagher said his top issues are insurance, education and to "make sure that our state is organized in a way that will make it more efficient."

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4550.


Ernesto has forced the postponement of tonight's scheduled debate between the Democratic candidates for governor. Tom Kastanotis; the debate producer, said organizers hope to reschedule the face-off between U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa and state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua on Florida's NBC stations.

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