The third and final gubernatorial debate is over, with two weeks to go before Election Day.
In probably the fiercest debate of the season Gov. Rick Scott and his now-Democratic challenger and predecessor, Charlie Crist, argued over issues that at times turned personal.
"I watched a parent lose the only family car. I watched a father struggle to buy Christmas presents," Scott said. "I went through all that as a child. Charlie never went through that. Charlie grew up with plenty of money."
"Listen, when I was a little kid, we lived in a small apartment in Atlanta while my dad was going to medical school and he used to deliver newspapers to make ends meet," Crist shot back. "So you don't know me, and you can't tell my story."
Debate Chat
After the unusual start of last week's debate, involving an electric fan under Crist's podium that was against the rules, the two candidates traded barbs over Florida's minimum wage, education, job creation and Obamacare.
Crist called Scott "out of touch" with regular Floridians, while Scott called Crist a "divider" who switched parties and policies to further his political career.
As they debated the economy and who was responsible for the recovery, Scott contended that Crist grew up rich and didn't know the struggles of poor people like he did. Crist fired back by saying that Scott, who is now a multimillionaire after growing up poor, didn't care about the middle class and spent all his time in a private jet and a seaside mansion.
Crist used that line to stress the need to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, which Scott opposes because he argued it could lead to some businesses to pare back the number of jobs they offer.
"How can somebody get by on $7.93 cents an hour?" asked Crist, who noted that some Floridians have to work extra jobs to make ends meet. "That's not an economy that's humming along."
Scott said he did believe there should be some sort of minimum wage in place, but when asked how much it should be, he responded: "How would I know? I mean the private sector decides wages."
But Scott then maintained it was just as important to have economic policies that help stimulate the economy. He faulted Crist for pursuing policies while he was governor that he said hurt the economy and led to job losses during the Great Recession.
"Just because you set a minimum wage doesn't mean you get a job," he said.
The debate on CNN also featured questions about Cuba, immigration, and whether ex-convicts deserve voting rights after they are released from prison.
Both men stressed their support for Florida's death penalty, but Crist pressed Scott over his decision to delay an execution because the date conflicted with a fundraiser for Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi later apologized and Scott said at the time he was unaware of the reason for the delay.
Around 500,000 Floridians have already cast ballots for November general election. The governor may have a slight edge over Crist, as about half of all ballots cast have been from Republicans, according to election officials.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.