More sparks fly as Pennsylvania’s Senate candidates go on offensive in second debate

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There were few surprises during the second and last debate between Senator Bob Casey and his challenger, Republican David McCormick. Their discourse traversed familiar lines and provided an overview of the race.

Both candidates continued to accuse the other of modifying or representing their positions and being out of touch with average Pennsylvanians.

The debate opened with the topic of the cost of living. A key focus for Casey, he made the case that higher prices have been the result of “price gouging.”

“You have corporations in the two-year period from the middle of 2020 to the middle of 2022, corporate profits going up 75%, five times the rate of inflation,” he said.

McCormick placed the blame squarely on the Biden-Harris administration, citing public spending and the “war on fossil fuels.”

“I’m not saying that there isn’t some company that could potentially be price gouging,” McCormick said. “The problem is that this is caused by bad policy.”

Economists and studies on the issue have found several culprits for inflation and are mixed on whether price gouging or public spending were the primary drivers. As for gas prices, this year has seen an increase in domestic oil production and a decrease in demand which has also led to a recent reduction in prices at the local gas pump.

The abortion issue returned as a source of controversy as it has many times in this race — particularly in the last debate. Moderator Sharrie Williams stated, “A woman is a woman no matter where she lives,” before asking McCormick why “a woman’s access to abortion is dependent on her state of residence.”

McCormick responded that the “people should get to decide” and said he did not support a national abortion ban. He then accused Casey of “flip-flopping” on the issue. Casey has previously called himself a “pro-life Democrat” but appeared to change his stand after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

“That was the choice before the country, and I voted at that moment to restore those rights through the Women’s Health Protection Act,” he said. “The country’s going to make a choice in terms of this Senate race in terms of control of the Senate, and that will largely determine whether or not those rights are restored or not. I’ve already voted twice to restore those rights. My opponent won’t support that.”

Ilia Garcia of Univision 65 then asked Casey what he would do to get a comprehensive immigration bill passed.

Casey said he would start by passing the “bipartisan border security bill” currently before the Senate, which would give the president greater authority to close the border and reduce the flow of fentanyl to the country. He said that the bill didn’t pass because Donald Trump pushed Republicans in Congress to reject it.

McCormick, however, called it a “liberal” bill that effectively offered “amnesty.”

Garcia then turned to McCormick and asked what he would do to protect immigrant families given the rise in anti-immigrant sentiments “with President Trump demonizing migrants.’

McCormick noted his wife is an immigrant, “so I’m pro-immigrant.” However, he did not indicate how he would reduce anti-immigrant sentiments and returned to border security, accusing the Biden-Harris administration of not doing enough.

“It’s been a disaster,” he said. “Ten million illegal immigrants met people on the terrorist watch list.” Later, he added that Democrats “are trying to change the conversation because they have failed to secure a border in terms of hate crimes.”

The conversation then turned to partisanship in Washington and how the candidates would work with the other side and, hypothetically, with each other. However, both appeared to believe that there was little common ground to start from.

McCormick said that, as a former platoon leader and CEO, he “would get things done,” unlike Casey, who “doesn’t have a record to stand on.”

“If you want to talk about civility, we got to get through this election, get a new senator in Pennsylvania that can actually work across the aisle and get things done,” he said. “Senator Casey has not proven himself to be such a senator.”

Casey retorted that his record demonstrates that he has worked across the aisle.

“I wrote and passed more bills than almost anybody in the whole Senate,” he said. “Because of my legislation, because of my work, we invested in infrastructure in Pennsylvania like we’ve never done before.”

Turning to the war in Gaza, Williams referred to the $18 billion the U.S. has given to Israel since the October 7 attack last year and asked, “How do you believe the US can continue to support Israel’s right to self-defense while also addressing the humanitarian needs of Palestinian civilians and other civilians as this conflict spreads?

In response, both candidates competed for who was a bigger supporter of Israel.

“We’ve got to continue to support Israel’s efforts, not just to defend itself, but to take the fight to those terrorists that are threatening them every single day,” Casey responded. “And I’ll continue to support Israel as I always have.”

When Williams repeated the question, Casey added, “I should have added that we have to continue to support robust support for food for people in Gaza, medicine and medical supplies.”

McCormick again blamed the White House.

“What’s happening in the Middle East comes from weakness, and we are being tested from our adversaries around the world,” McCormick said. “President Biden should support Israel completely. Israel is in the fight for its life. It’s being attacked by Hezbollah.”

The candidates highly differed when it came to whether they would ban guns such as AK-47s and AR-15s, which have been used in some high-profile mass shootings.

McCormick argued they are protected by the Second Amendment.

“Those are semi-automatic rifles,” he said. “I’m in favor of those not being restricted. They’re used for sporting; they’re used for protection.”

Casey said that he favors such restrictions.

“These common-sense measures will have no impact on Second Amendment rights,” he said. “It’ll have no impact on law-abiding gun owners who need a gun for self-protection or want a gun to hunt.”