Midterm elections: Democratic nominee out-debates Republican opponent in just 40 seconds

The US midterm elections are just around the corner and, as always, their political debates are beginning to heat up, with jibes aplenty being thrown around.

We've already seen some pretty outrageous stuff so far, including the campaign ad from David Brill, which featured possibly the best twist of all-time.

Now we have probably the quickest takedown of a politician by an opponent when Florida gubernatorial candidates Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis squared off.

A particularly tense moment in the debate occurred when DeSantis was asked about his connections to David Horowitz, a radical conservative who has used racist remarks in public before.

The 40-year-old clapped back at this question from the moderator saying:

How in the hell am I supposed to know every statement that somebody makes? 

I’m not going to bow down to the altar of political correctness. I’m not going to let the media smear me.

DeSantis, whose campaign has been dogged by accusations of racism, was torn to shreds in a matter of seconds by Gillum following his exasperated answer, leaving him virtually speechless.

The 39-year-old Miami native said:

Well, first just say my grandmother used to say a hit dog will holler and it hollered through this room. 

Mr DeSantis has spoken, First of all, he's got neo-Nazi's helping him out in this state. He has spoken at racist conferences.

He has accepted a contribution from someone who referred to the former president of the United States as a 'Muslin n****r.'

When asked to return that money he said 'no.' He's now using that money to fund negative ads.

Now, I'm not calling Mr DeSantis a racist, I'm simply saying the racists believe he is a racist.

This answer evoked cheers and laughter from the audience in attendance and it has also gone down well on Twitter, after Gillum shared the moment on his own account.

The race between these two has become a national news story in the US due to the pairs opposing political ideologies and backgrounds.

Mr Gillum is reportedly leading in polls by an average of 5.8 points. If he wins, he will be the first Democrat to be elected in Florida this century and would be the state's first black governor.

More: Florida gubernatorial candidate teaches his kid to 'build a wall' in campaign video