Pennsylvania voters got a double shot of politics Monday night with two debates televised statewide, featuring the state’s U.S. Senate hopefuls. One debate featured Democrat candidates and the other Republicans. They are vying for the Senate seat being left open by exiting Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
The race has generated national interest as Democrats hope to flip the seat blue, which, along with current Sen. Bob Casey Jr., would give Pennsylvania two Democratic senators.
The open seat has not been held by an elected Democrat since 1969, although longtime Republican Sen. Arlen Spector switched to Democrat in 2009 while in office. Specter served from 1981 to 2011, when Toomey was elected.
In Pennsylvania, independents don’t vote in the May 17 primary. Registered Democrats and Republicans are given a ballot with their party’s candidates. Winning candidates in each party advance to the Nov. 8 general election.
While parties are focused on choosing their own candidates, they are also sizing up their opposition.
The two debates had different sponsors and styles. The Democrat debate lasted 90 minutes and had a more relaxed, conversational tone, with time for follow up questions. If candidates didn’t answer a question directly, the moderator would prompt, “You didn’t answer the question” and asked them to be direct.
Democrats
The Democrat debate was held at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and televised on the Pennsylvania Cable Network. It was sponsored by Spotlight PA and its partners The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Patriot-News, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; and WITF and PCN. The moderator was WITF talk show host Scott Lamar.Candidates are all current office holders: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Jenkintown Councilwoman Alex Khalil.
Candidates were asked if President Joe Biden’s policies have contributed to inflation.
“Whenever we invest in working people, you hear about how it’s unaffordable—how it doesn’t make sense,” Kenyatta said. “You didn’t hear that when it was time to bail out the big banks. You don’t hear it when it’s time to give another tax break to somebody who’s well off and well connected. But when we do things like the child tax credit, which actually lifted millions of kids out of deep poverty, you hear hemming and hawing from people who were fine with the status quo.”
Kenyatta doesn’t believe the American Rescue Plan caused inflation: “You’re seeing inflation all across the world and every country did not make the same investments we made in the American rescue plan.”
Khalil blamed inflation on price gouging.
“We have inflation because we have price gouging going on and no one is calling out the enormous bonuses that CEOs are getting—the enormous profitability,” the councilwoman said. “I want to make clear to everyone, no company is going bankrupt during this so-called inflation. On the contrary, we are seeing record profits and record CEO pay. So who is paying? The American people are paying.”
Lamar asked what evidence Khalil had of price gouging.
“When you have more profit, and our companies are more profitable now, and CEO pay is higher now than it was before the pandemic, that is price gouging,” Khalil replied.
Lamb, who voted for the CARES Act in Congress, said the plan infused a lot of money into the economy at a time when it was seriously needed.
“What I always come back to is, if you’re in January of 2021 when Joe Biden got sworn in, nobody knew what turns were left in the road of the pandemic; how many people would be thrown out of work and not get their unemployment benefits on time, how many people would be evicted if they didn’t get that last stimulus check to see them through the last several months,” Lamb said. “So I always ask the Republicans, what would you have done? I mean, we know they would have taken that money away from the people that needed it the most, but I think what voters are asking is, what are you doing next? And that’s where we have to talk about the costs we can control, and the fact that we’re trying to raise taxes to shrink the deficit, which is an anti-inflationary measure.”
Fetterman told the host he believes Biden’s policies support families.
“I’m always going to come down on the side of investments in the middle class, in families, and that’s really what the American Rescue Plan was all predicated on, was making these critical core investments,” Fetterman said. “Whether it’s childcare or infrastructure or other things to make sure that people were being properly supported during the pandemic. Remember, this inflation is a tax on working families and the Biden administration understands this and is taking all the appropriate steps to continue to attack it. I think one of the most important things we can do is drive down the cost of fuel prices; people notice that when they fill up their vehicles.”
Fetterman also suggested suspending the gas tax and producing more energy in the United States to combat inflation: “We’re also developing a sense of inflation because of the logistical logjam and because we are not making enough stuff here in this country. We must create more manufacturing to straighten out the logistical and supply chain issues that have helped contribute to this inflation logjam.”
The Democrats were asked about abortion, and all agreed that the issue would be a litmus test for any Supreme Court nominee. None said they would approve a judge who would restrict abortion. Fetterman called abortion “a sacred right.”
Lamb mentioned several times that he is most likely to gain the support of swing voters.
Meanwhile, Kenyatta also offered his thoughts on the “Defund the Police” movement.
“This notion, particularly as a black man in this country, that the only two options I have is to have no police, or to have police who aren’t held accountable when they do something they should not do—specifically as we’ve seen, tragic instances of police violence—what I want is to see us making investments in things that actually make communities safe,” Kenyatta said. “Police officers are a part of that.
“But I talk about all the time, ‘America’s basic bargain’—this idea that you have one good job, that your kids can go to a good school, that you have a health care and affordable prescription drugs, that you can retire with a level of dignity. Communities that have the things I just laid out, those are safer communities.”
He suggests investing in people by assuring they have good jobs and stable housing.
Republicans
The Republican debate was hosted at WHTM Television in Harrisburg and moderated by Capitol Bureau Reporter Dennis Owens and WPXI Television Anchor Lisa Sylvester.It was the first time candidates Dave McCormick and Mehmet Oz have appeared together on a debate stage and they used much of their time casting insults at one another. The two paid little attention to the other three candidates present, Kathy Barnette, Jeff Bartos, and Carla Sands.
Although Sands served in President Donald Trump’s administration as ambassador to Denmark, she did not get his endorsement. “President Trump doesn’t always get the best advice. It’s unfortunate but true,” Sands said.
Trump’s endorsement went to Oz, who mentioned this numerous times. “President Trump is very clear: I’m America first,” Oz answered when asked what “America First” means to him.
When asked about his position on abortion, Oz answered that Trump “said that I am pro-life and I am pro-life. I’ve been very clear on my position throughout this race. There isn’t, to my knowledge, evidence that I’m not pro-life.”
McCormick reminded viewers that in 2019, Oz appeared on The Breakfast Club radio talk show and questioned when life begins and expressed concern about the pro-life movement creating fights in states.
Bartos pointed to how often Oz and McCormick argued instead of discussing policy: “This election has to be about the voters,” he said. “It has to be about you, the voters; not about us. They made this about themselves. They spent $60 million [in advertising] fighting with each other. People pat themselves on the back and bang their chest about how wonderful they are. This election is about fighting for the people of Pennsylvania.”
Candidates were asked how they would bring high paying jobs back to America.
“Much of what we are experiencing is a direct result of the failed policies of the Democratic Party,” Barnette said. “It’s not COVID that stopped the supply chain. The reason the supply chain is the way it is right now, is that we have shipping containers sitting outside of ports, and instead of Pete Buttigieg doing what was necessary to get the goods and services off those ships and onto the shelves and grocery stores, he went and took maternity leave. Instead of being able to drill for resources into energy, Democrats have decided to weaponize climate change and to create a war against energy.”
Bartos said natural gas is a much cleaner alternative to the coal plants being used around the world: “These greenies in Europe and around the country, they’re making coal happen. Pennsylvania is not only the key to keeping Vladimir Putin in check and stopping his war of aggression, but is the key to bringing good paying, working family jobs, back here to Pennsylvania.
“As United States Senator, I'll be in Washington fighting for pipelines and getting our gas to market,” he said.
Sands noted that Trump was bringing manufacturing jobs back by encouraging fewer regulations and a more business friendly tax structure.
“We have to hold the line and support low regulations. I will work to do that in Washington,” she said. “We’re going to onshore those jobs. The supply chain right now is in trouble because China is locking down their cities like Shanghai. We have to make things here. I say we bring those jobs back. We onshore the jobs, and we do it here in Pennsylvania. We can make steel here. We can make the pharmaceuticals. We can certainly explore for more energy. I called for operation warp speed for Pennsylvania energy that we drill, harvest, lay the pipes, and we send it around our country and to our allies and partners in Europe so they don’t need Russian energy.”
McCormick said he has created 600 jobs in Pennsylvania: “The energy sector is key to unlocking our economy. It’s key to creating jobs here in Pennsylvania and this is what we should be talking about as candidates on this stage. We have to unlock energy.”
He then accused Oz of saying in 2014 that fracking should be banned.
“Dishonest David is at it again with these types of allegations,” Oz said. He then reminded viewers that Trump didn’t endorse McCormick. “He endorsed me because, as he said in his announcement, I know exactly how to manage our energy issues and deal with many of the other factors that we as a nation have to be strong and bold on.”
