U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright and Republican challenger Rob Bresnahan faced off Tuesday night in the lone debate in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District in one of the most watched congressional races in the country.
The two candidates running for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District seat in northeastern Pennsylvania addressed several pressing issues during a nearly hour-long debate hosted by WVIA.
Immigration
In the first question after the candidates’ opening statements, WVIA News’ Borys Krawczeniak asked what policy the candidates preferred in dealing with the southern border; whether they support building a wall, their thoughts on a path to citizenship for undocumented migrants, or whether they support calls for mass deportations made by former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential candidate.
“The truth is that we currently have a broken immigration system in this country and it needs to be fixed,” Cartwright said.
Cartwright stated that he supported the bipartisan border proposal put forth by GOP U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), describing it as a “difficult but fair path to closing the border and stopping immigration,” although the bill ultimately failed. He blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for not making it to the finish line.
Cartwright, Member of the House Democratic Border Security Task Force said he differs with the White House on this issue. He said he voted against sanctuary cities and for tougher penalties against immigrants who commit violent crimes or attack police.
Bresnahan said he has visited the southern border of the United States twice, saying he has seen firsthand “the crisis, human trafficking and what’s going on.”
“Yes, we need a physical barrier. We need to supplement it with hybrid technologies,” Bresnahan said. “But the narrative that the border is closed needs to be changed.”
Bresnahan also accused Cartwright of voting against border funding on seven separate occasions and criticized him for voting against the Safeguard U.S. Voter Qualification Act or “SAVE Act,” which aims to prohibit states from “receiving and processing applications to register to vote in federal elections unless the applicant provides proof of U.S. citizenship.”
Cartwright defended himself against the bill, citing opposition from the Bipartisan Policy Center.
As Cartwright noted, it is already illegal under federal law for non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections.
Miscarriage
Both candidates have said they oppose a national abortion ban, but have offered different views on at which level of government abortion policy should be addressed.
“I want to make it absolutely clear, I support women’s reproductive freedom,” Cartwright said. “Dobbs’ decision was a shock. It was a shocking decision for American law.”
Cartwright said legislation is needed at the federal level to restore Roe v. Wade, while criticizing Bresnahan for supporting the Dobbs decision.
“I don’t think abortion is the purview of the federal government,” Bresnahan said.
Bresnahan said he thinks the best policy is one that other states pursue, putting it in the form of a ballot initiative and letting voters decide what’s best for their particular state.
Bresnahan criticized Cartwright for previously calling himself “pro-life.” Cartwright responded that he and his wife are practicing Catholics, but he never said he would vote to take away women’s reproductive rights, calling it “imposing your own religious beliefs on others.” This is not an American thing.”
Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania until the 24th week of pregnancy.
Ukraine and Israel
Both candidates also referred to their support for Israel, although they expressed different views on the way the US financed the war in Ukraine.
Cartwright mentioned meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a recent visit to an Army munitions plant in Scranton and called him “the Winston Churchill of Eastern Europe who defends democracy and freedom.”
“It’s a tough world out there, and they’re watching what we do,” Cartwright said. “If we don’t strongly defend Volodymyr Zelensky and freedom in Ukraine, they will think we are weak.”
He also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop at the Polish border if he succeeds in Ukraine, which he sees as another reason to support Ukraine in the ongoing war. He also pointed to the local jobs that the war effort created in the region.
Bresnahan called the situation in Ukraine “absolutely dire” and added that he “supports providing them with the resources to fight their way.” But he said “there is a war going on in the country” and people are struggling to pay their bills.
“I would like to have some accountability for the existing $178 billion that was sent there,” Bresnahan said. “It just can’t be an open checkbook and just ship and fill bags with cash and ship it all over the planet.”
He also gave the example of American funds intended for the construction of bridges in Ukraine, while in the district there were bridges that had faulty construction.
Throughout the debate, each candidate also promised not to be a rubber stamp for their parties and said they supported policies that would lend a hand address inflation.
Cartwright, who was first elected to Congress in 2012, is the only Democrat serving in the state’s congressional delegation representing the district won by former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. The district also includes President Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton.
The contest between Cartwright and Bresnahan is also the most costly in any of the state’s 17 House districts. Through October, Cartwright and Bresnahan’s campaigns had raised a combined $11.55 million, more than any other congressional race in the commonwealth this cycle and according to AdImpactthe race had the highest total advertising spending of any other House race in the country.
As with previous cycles, it is expected to be a close race.
A pair of national rating points, Cook Political Report AND Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ballrates the 8th Congressional District race as a “toss.”
Deadline by apply for an absentee or absentee ballot in Pennsylvania it falls on October 29. The general election will be held on November 5.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
