IN THE FIRST Florida gubernatorial debate on September 27, Republican governor Jeb Bush and Democratic challenger Bill McBride scuffled over the merits of the governor’s One Florida executive order, which abolished affirmative action in state contracting and university admissions. McBride said he thinks it important to “get everybody to the same starting point,” signaling his opposition to One Florida, while Bush insisted that his program allowed state business to be conducted more fairly. McBride, he asserted, supported the “old way.”
Florida voters list education as their number-one priority, and to McBride’s credit he has more or less turned the race into a single-issue contest. Now with seven days to go in the campaign, Bush must make a final push to convince Floridians his reforms are working, while McBride promises raises for teachers and smaller class sizes. But who has the edge on what has turned out to be the issue of this race?
