Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Val Demings, vying for Florida Senate seat, set to face off in debate Tuesday

Florida Senate candidates Marco Rubio and Val Demings are set to face off this week in their first and only debate before the Nov. 8 election as thousands of Floridians are already casting their ballots.

The candidates will take to the stage Tuesday at 7 p.m. E.T. at Palm Beach State College’s Lake Worth campus.

Over 600,000 have already voted in Florida, contributing to the more than 2 million early voters across the country, according to an analysis by the University of Florida’s US Election’s Project.

Who’s debating?

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is running for his third term in the Senate as the GOP nominee after first being elected in 2010. The incumbent previously ran for president in the 2016 election but dropped out of the presidential race after coming in second to Donald Trump in the Florida Republican primary.

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Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., is seeking to replace Rubio after serving in the United States House of Representatives for three terms, representing Florida’s 10th district. Demings served as one of the seven impeachment managers in Trump’s 2020 Senate impeachment trial.

What’s at stake?

Issues including abortion rights, healthcare costs, inflation and the economy are at stake in November.

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The Senate is currently split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote for Democrats .

How to watch?

The debate between the two Florida politicians will be streamed by the Palm Beach Post, a part of the USA TODAY Network, at www.PalmBeachPost.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida's Rubio, Demings to face off in Senate debate as midterms near