Arizona’s U.S. Senate candidates took part in their first televised debate Wednesday night, going head-to-head on key topics such as the Southern border, abortion and the economy.
The debate was hosted by the Clean Elections Committee and moderated by Steve Goldstein and Nohelani Graf. Most of the debate time was spent on one of Arizona’s top priorities when it comes to the election - the Southern border.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 12.5 million foreign nationals have illegally entered the U.S., a record number for any administration by a large amount, The Center Square first reported
Republican Candidate Kari Lake, a former TV anchor endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has been running on a MAGA platform and is in support of Trump’s promise to initiate mass deportation if elected.
“We’ve got 20 million people coming in,” Lake said. “They’re taking jobs, they’re taking housing. This is why nobody can afford housing anymore.”
Lake noted the influx of fentanyl coming over the border in Arizona and said that her solution to this problem is to complete the Trump-era border wall while increasing technology and manpower at the ports of entry.
Her opponent, Ruben Gallego who is currently an Arizona congressman, actually agreed with Lake on this stating that he believes a border wall, increased technology and increased border patrol personnel would help reduce the number of illegal crossings.
However, Gallego pointed out that Lake as well as Trump were not in support of the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act - a bipartisan $118 billion bill that would have expanded detention facilities and hired more border control agents, asylum officers and immigration judges. This bill failed in the Senate after Trump spoke out against it.
