As the election heads into the final weeks, former Rep. Dennis Ross, the Republican candidate running to replace U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, unveiled a new commercial introducing himself to the voters of the district which spans three counties in Central Florida.

Gov. Charlie Crist's former campaign chairman, Connie Mack Sr., is speaking out about Gov. Charlie Crist's ad attacking Marco Rubio on Social Security.

He released a statement this morning saying, It is disappointing that Charlie Crist has resorted to false attacks and scare tactics, all simply to try to win an election. Plain and simple, Charlies ad is not true and Florida voters deserve better. What is truly disappointing to me is that I know that Charlie knows that, too.

It's common for candidates, or their campaigns, to declare themselves winners, but when outside analysts or news outlets make the call, the candidates have a little more firm ground to stand on.

The political analyst at Fox News in Miami declared Marco Rubio the winner of last night's debate, especially on issues of health care and the economy. Kendrick Meek was given kudos for standing his ground on popular issues, but overall Rubio won the debate.

The debate between the U.S. Senate candidates ended with a question on the states ban on gay adoption that was overturned last month by a Miami court. Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running without party affiliation, said he backed the decision and attacked Republicans, including rival Marco Rubio and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, for discriminating against homosexuals. Crist called himself a fiscal conservative and a social moderate who was consistent against government intervention.

The candidates in the U.S. Senate race tackled reforming Washington and tax cuts in their freewheeling debate. Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek noted that he was vacating a safe congressional seat to run for the Senate because he was frustrated with the way Washington worked.

Republican House Speaker Marco Rubio also talked about his frustrations with Washington. I believe both parties are to blame for whats going on in Washington, said Rubio.

In the U.S. Senate debate, George Stephanopoulos turned to new federal health-care laws backed by President Barack Obama. Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running without party affiliation, said he liked parts of the measures but opposes others. It must be fixed and it must be done right, insisted Crist -- before attacking Republican Marco Rubio for wanting to overturn Roe vs. Wade. You havent been drinking the Kool Aid, youve been drinking too much tea, the governor said to Rubio, attempting to portray the Republican as an extreme conservative.

The candidates are starting to show their cards in the U.S Senate debate. Republican Marco Rubio is looking to tie both Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running without party affiliation, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek to the Obama administration and the federal stimulus.

These gentlemen support the course our country is headed, said Rubio who engaged with Meek on the merits of the stimulus.

Meek pounded on jobs, noting that the Sunshine State continues to see double-digit unemployment.

The U.S. Senate debate turned to Social Security. Republican Marco Rubio defended his record, insisting that Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running without party affiliation, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek were trying to distort his record on that issue.

While Crist fired away at both candidates on the issue, he focused on Rubio. Hes been all over the map on Social Security, said Crist.

On Wednesday evening, the three leading candidates in the U.S. Senate race debated each other -- with both Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running without party affiliation, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek trying to catch Republican front-runner, former House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Hosted by George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, the debate was held in Orlando and broadcast by WFTV in Orlando and WFTS in Tampa. It was also held online through ABCNews.com and Facebook.

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the Republican candidate and the front-runner in the U.S. Senate race, announced on Wednesday that his campaign had raised more than $5 million in the third quarter of 2010 -- with more than $5.5 million on hand for the last weeks of the election.

In making this announcement, Rubio's senior strategist Todd Harris issued the following statement: