Fiery exchanges during 2nd debate of Orange-Osceola state attorney hopefuls

Candidates for Orange-Osceola state attorney met Friday for a second debate, with questions of how to keep the community safe and allegations of election meddling continuing to frame the race.

Moderated by WESH 2 anchor Nancy Alvarez, the debate between incumbent State Attorney Andrew Bain and Monique Worrell, his suspended predecessor, rehashed many of the themes from the Sept. 11 event. Namely, the candidates focused on falling crime rates with each claiming credit for them, a contention the Orlando Sentinel questioned in its fact-check on the first debate.

The debate took place hours after Bain, running as a no-party-affiliated candidate, announced an endorsement by Orange County Sheriff John Mina, a vocal critic of Worrell’s tenure as state attorney.

“You are safer today than you are a year ago,” Bain said, a common refrain during his campaign as he looks to keep his post following his appointment last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Like last week, she repeated the claim she oversaw the region’s lowest violent crime rate in over a decade.


https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/09/20/war-of-words-fiery-exchanges-during-2nd-debate-of-orange-osceola-state-attorney-hopefuls/