Corey Simon and Daryl Parks face off in key Florida Senate debate ahead of election

Former football legend Corey Simon two years ago challenged state Senate District 3’s incumbent Democrat Loranne Ausley for her seat, debating her at Florida State University’s Tucker Center weeks before the election.

In a year ripe for the taking for Sunshine State Republicans, Simon hoped for an upset. 

Spoiler: after the GOP spent nearly $8 million to help him flip the seat, he got it.

Simon dethroned the popular Democrat, became the first Republican in over 100 years to hold the seat, and hammered one more nail in the coffin containing Florida Democrats’ sway over the state Legislature, which now boasts a Republican supermajority in both chambers.

Now, two years later, Simon finds himself on the same stage, hosted by the same Capital Tiger Bay Club, attempting to defend his seat from Democrat civil rights attorney Daryl Parks as the two faced off Tuesday afternoon in the first and only debate before election day.

Moderated by Politico’s Gary Fineout, the issues were varied: running from queries on the race's brutal attack ads to the controversial abortion amendment to Florida’s uniquely awful property insurance crisis—compounded by a slew of hurricanes and allegedly corrupt companies.

Here’s what happened:

On abortion: did Parks lie about Simon’s record on abortion?

Somewhat.

Abortion took on a large segment of the Tuesday afternoon debate because of Florida’s proposed Amendment 4, which would overturn the state’s much-criticized six-week abortion ban and allow the procedure until “fetal viability.”

The measure—hated by Gov. Ron DeSantis and many of his allies—will be on the November ballot. On this, Simon stuck by DeSantis’ side, claiming the Amendment goes “too far”, but diverted from many legislative Republicans when he said he also believes the six-week ban goes “too far.”

Parks, who fully supports the measure and detests the ban (as most Democrats do), ran an attack ad last month claiming Simon “passed the extreme, no exceptions abortion ban.”

This issue? Simon voted no on six weeks.

So he ran his own attack ad calling Parks a liar.

At Tuesday’s debate, Fineout asked the two about the ads, to which Parks insisted that no lie was told because Simon had voted down amendments softening the six-week ban and had voted in favor of a controversial bill that would have defined “unborn child” in state statute. 

Because that bill died before reaching the floor, Simon told Tallahassee onlookers that Parks is only talking about “bills that didn’t pass and amendments that didn’t go anywhere.”

“We’re talking about votes on the board for bills that have passed that are affecting families,” he said. “I’ve been consistent all the way around, every single time.”

On insurance: the Trump-hated law haunts Republicans

Because Parks and Simon are battling it out to represent the chunk of North Florida battered by three hurricanes in 13 months, up came the question of hurricanes, their effect on property insurance rates, and a controversial 2022 law that tried to tamp down Florida’s spiking insurance premiums.

“56% of the claims after Idalia were not paid,” Parks said, blasting the insurance industry amid a recent exposé claiming certain companies purposely shorted struggling Floridians seeking money for their hurricane-destroyed homes. “There's something wrong there folks…When numbers speak that clear, you have to speak to it as a state Senator.”

He brought up the 2022 Republican-backed law, passed during a special session called to fix the state’s staggeringly high premiums, which were triple the national average at the time. However, critics, including former President Donald Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz, claimed the law would enrich insurance companies and exacerbate the crisis.

Simon, who voted for the bill in 2022, acknowledged that the state has a reinsurance issue that needs to be addressed, encouraging residents who are being ignored or mistreated by their insurance companies to call his office.

“I will be watching, I will be mindful, and I will react,” Parks promised. “I won't wait for your call.”

After the debate, Parks told The Floridian that he believes Simon did the worst on responding to insurance questions because “he can’t speak to insurance because the companies gave him the money!”

He echoed one of his July attack ads claiming that because Simon has taken $250,000 in insurance donations, he is on the side of insurance companies. When asked about this by The Floridian, Simon claimed that Parks, an attorney, would be the only one who would benefit from suing insurance companies.

“That is a huge misrepresentation. I fight for these folks, I don’t fight for industries. I don’t fight for the insurance lobby,” Simon said.

Other issues: marijuana and pickleball

In a debate that lasted around an hour, the candidates covered a wide array of topics, which is necessary considering how competitive the race is (together, Parks, Simon, and their campaign committees have raised well over $2 million and spent over $7 million on ads). 

The two covered Florida’s Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana. Parks said he is a “soft yes” on the semi-bipartisan initiative because he is strongly against criminalizing marijuana use, while Simon said he is a “hard no” because he fears the measure’s language would allow people to “have up to 100 joints at a time.”

Simon and Parks found common ground on a widely hated leaked proposal that would have built pickleball courts in state parks. A strong advocate for the environment, Simon stressed that he is against the idea, which came from the Department of Environmental Protection, while Parks claimed that the Governor’s office would “have to think we’re stupid” for people to believe DeSantis wasn’t behind the idea.

Overall, attendees The Floridian spoke to were split down party lines in terms of who they thought won the debate. Except for retiree and Democrat Penny Davis, who believes Simon won.

“I liked his answers. I saw him talking and thinking on the spot, and I think he’s very well-spoken,” she said. However, she “can’t” vote for him because he is aligned with Trump and DeSantis, who she believes are driving the “ugliness” in the current political climate. 

“Therefore, it hurts Corey. I have to vote for Parks not because I’m a Democrat, but because I don’t want a majority and what it’s resulted in.”

The influential Americans for Prosperity grassroots organization weighed in after the debate, alleging that Simon won the debate.

“Today, Senator Simon demonstrated his proven record of representing the needs of Tallahassee in the Legislature. He is a stronger choice with a clear vision for Florida unlike Daryl Parks who does not offer serious solutions to our greatest challenges. Senator Simon has the experience needed to continue to reform our insurance market, keep our economy growing, and usher in restoration after a difficult storm season. We need Senator Simon in office to continue defending North Florida values and we celebrate his debate victory today," stated AFP State Director Skylar Zandar.