Workingcratic party is to the left. His opponent, amy kennedy. Teacher. Blic school we want to know the voices in south jersey are heard. I think i am the person to do that. I am raising my family here. It is my home. And my whole family lives in the area. What is happening in our community. Thehe face for the seats in second congressional district. I have walked it, i have talked it. The people in south jersey are good, middleclass people. To beat jeff, we need to have a vision of what we want this country to look like going forward. For me, that means focusing on social justice. Moving out of the coronavirus and George Floyds death, it will be important to focus on the values of our community. The candidates will have their chance to square off on covid recovery, the economy, Climate Change, policing, health care, and all the issues critical to the people of south jersey. Good evening and welcome to the Academic Center at Stockton University here in Atlantic City. For the next 60 minutes or so, we will have a spirited and informative debate between Second District congressional candidate sitting republican congressman Jeff Van Drew and amy kennedy, followed by post debate analysis. Our moderator this evening is the centers executive director. The panelist asking the questions are my colleagues, editor at large colleen oday, Senior Correspondent david cruz, and myself. Before i turn it over to our moderator, please know we are doing this debate live and in person. There is no live studio audience, only our crew and guest of the candidates are in the room. We are following all covid19 protocols as outlined by Stockton University and the new Jersey Department of health. Everyone involved has signed a Health Pledge and warn masked up masks up until the start of this broadcast. All else in the room will wear masks for the duration of the debate. So lets begin. John . John thank you, and welcome again to Stockton University. We bring you tonights debate with new jersey Second District. Home of one of the most important house races in the nation. Here are ground rules for tonight. Our panel will pose questions to the candidates on a variety of issues. Candidates will have 90 seconds to respond, and will be allowed 30 seconds for followups where appropriate. There are no opening statements. Each candidate will give a one minute closing statement premade statement. Candidates, please respect the time limits to which you agree. To maximize the number of questions, our last 10 minutes will feature a fastpaced round of questions requiring 32nd 30second responses from each candidate and no rebuttals. Our first topic involves the coronavirus pandemic. Thank you, and welcome to you both. Mr. Van drew, the first question is to you first. In the days since President Trumps covid19 diagnosis, more than 30 white house officials, staffers, and others in his orbit have tested positive, including former governor chris christie. Was it irresponsible of the president to travel and hold events knowing he had been exposed . Rep. Van drew i dont know exactly how much he did and didnt know, and i cant speak for the president , but obviously when somebody has been exposed and they know they have been, they have a responsibility to let their doctor or Health Professional know. I believe that we are coming to a time now where we are going to be much more proactive about making sure that those types of things dont happen, and we also know, which is interesting, that covid, if youre younger, if you are healthier, etc. , doesnt affect you nearly as much as people had originally thought. Some things are looking better on the horizon. Still requires vigilance and still requires being healthy. Careful. Ms. Kennedy, how would you rate the federal governments response to the pandemic . Ms. Kennedy first, thank you for having me here tonight. I would love to tell you that everything was moving forward in a way where we can just not be cautious in the way that we had to be tonight, but we are six months in and we are still really struggling. We are seeing an uptick in cases, and it is really the mixed messaging that we saw throughout this pandemic about how dangerous the virus would be, whether or not we should have masks or not wear masks, the distribution of the ppe left so much unclear for the American People, i want to see us have a real plan and make sure that we are thinking about how we are going to distribute the vaccine equitably, and that we can soon reopen and get back to life. I want to ask the same question to you. How would you rate the federal governments response to the pandemic . Rep. Van drew first of all, we have to understand how this started. It did start in china, and our cdc was not allowed to go into china and really evaluate what was happening. In fact we dont know if it came from a wet meat market or came from a laboratory. I believe it probably came from a laboratory. We dont know if it was genetically mutated. What we do know is fortunately the president did say there would be travel restrictions quite early on, and after we had travel restrictions with europe. At that time he was called racist, it was said that he was xenophobic because he did that. Thank goodness he did, that was a very important thing to do. We are moving rapidly toward a vaccine and we will have it soon. We are moving rapidly with new and better therapeutics. Youre seeing that now. They are already being used by physicians. As i said before, no we still have to be careful, and we do, but we have light at the end of the tunnel. This is going to get better. America is going to move forward and the world is going to move forward. This has affected the entire world. Ms. Kennedy, democratic president ial candidate joe biden has expressed a willingness to go into a National Lockdown if necessary. Do you support or oppose such an action . Ms. Kennedy im hopeful that we are not going to need to take action like that. We have seen really high numbers in parts of the country and in parts of the state, lower numbers in other areas. I would like to see it happen in a way that is more precise, but thats going to require Rapid Testing and tracing, and until those are in place, if we are going to have to handle it in a way that means that americans will be safe, and that will help us get back on track as soon as possible. To clarify, if the Vice President were elected president and called for a National Lockdown, your position would be what . Ms. Kennedy i dont think he would call a National Lockdown it were absolutely necessary, and at that point i would hope he is following the direction of scientists and doctors. John these next questions are about federal pandemic relief. It has been six months since Congress Passed the cares act. The president ended negotiations with democrats this week, but then said he would sign bills giving another 1200 stimulus payment to most americans and more aid to airlines and businesses. Do you support another round of federal aid or stimulus funding, and if so, how much, and where should it go . Ms. Kennedy i absolutely support another round of stimulus funding. Im glad that the president is going to approve those measures. We know that families in south jersey have been struggling, just looking at the rise in demand for the Community Food bank, for example privy people are having a difficult time just putting food on their table. We know that unemployment is at a high. We need to get people back to work, but in the meantime, that necessary stimulus is going to have to be the bridge there. And it is not just the airlines but it is our Small Businesses that have really struggled, and i would like to see that stimulus go to Small Businesses and working families, as well as our frontline workers. Do you support another round of stimulus funding, and if so, how much, and where should it go . Rep. Van drew i do, and the amount can be worked out. But thats not the issue. Here is the real issue. We should have done this already, and we couldve done it already. The reason it is not done already is because of politics. We had a bill that we voted on for covid relief, and in that bill were put certain measures that were so unacceptable to so many congresspeople, including democrats. What was in that bill, squeezed in there that shouldnt have been . There was actually the release of federal prisoners who were violent prisoners, and that would be part of the bill. Murderers, rapists, and others. How could you vote for that . There was the funding of those who are undocumented residents in this country, and they would actually get funded with the 2500, with the stimulus or more, again without even being residents, when we dont even get it for 17yearold kids. The Green New Deal would cost trillions of dollars ultimately. So all these other political ideas and packages were squeezed in when most of the bill was good, so at the end of the day when we left, it didnt get done. And we are still where we are. I want to go back and get it done. I want to get it done at a bipartisan level with all of us working together and not putting in the nonsense. We can argue about the other stuff later, but we need the relief. This next question, excuse me, i have a quick followup for you if thats ok. There are some republicans who have called the stimulus a blue state bailout. Is that something that you agree with . Rep. Van drew it depends how you do that. I believe in helping the states. This is what i dont believe in and i do believe in. I believe that states should be held accountable for past practices that were very irresponsible in the way they budgeted and what they did, without a doubt. But i also think the expenses that they have due to the covid absolutely should be covered and they should be helped. But we just cant bail them out because they didnt run their state right, either. So that is something you have to go through statebystate. John the next question is about election security. This question is for both of the candidates. President trump has called into question the validity of this election. He contends there is widespread voter fraud, particularly imitation to vote by mail. But without providing proof. How confident are you in the security of this years election and the validity of the results . Im hopeful, but i am worried. Talk to postmasters, talk to any person. Just go out on the street and talk to regular folks and every one of them will tell you that they have either had the experience or know someone who has, where they have gotten extra ballots in the mail, people who moved and dont live there anymore, people who passed away, people who live in other states. That is not good. We are sending millions of live ballots in the mail. I expressed to the governor, what we should have done is even have maybe a monday, tuesday, and wednesday voting by machine. You could have a middle of the alphabet vote on tuesday, the beginning of the alphabet on monday and the end of the alphabet on wednesday. You can have the spacing and precautions and have everything done the right way, but people would go and press the button and vote and know they had done it the right way. Right now were just putting the ballots out there. Honestly, we dont need President Trump to tell us that. All you need to do is talk to family and friends, and i guarantee you they will tell you they are getting all kinds of ballots and they dont know where they are coming from. Ms. Kennedy, same question. I am excited that we are among the states that are making sure that everybody will be safe and able to participate in the process. I think the primary was a great example of why the system works. We saw an increase in turnout, it was almost 50 higher than ever in the history of district two, that people participated, both republicans and democrats saw an increase in participation. Im thinking that if people want to vote in person, they have that option, they can do that, if they need to put in the mail, that is an option for them. And theres also the secure drop boxes, which there are 10 in each county at a minimum. So i feel this is really a good path forward and it also means that everybody will have a paper ballot. It helps us with the idea of interference from any type of Foreign Government as well, because paper ballots are secure, and the whole narrative that president has been pushing, i think is destructive. A quick followup, there was an incident just last week where ballots were found among other mail that was thrown away and they found the postal employee that think was responsible. Does that prove there may be some sort of worries that we should have about ballots getting where they need to go . I think always with an election that we should be very cautious, that we need people to report if Something Like that is happening, but this overall is a very secure method. Is being used in other states and has been for a long time. You have been a state legislator before you were in congress for an awful long time. So i think you know how the system works. Were there enough safeguards in our system to prevent a person from voting twice . There absolutely were, and even in the system we had, we all spoke about the legislature, how actually there should be a backup on the machines. Im sure you have heard that. Our machines arent even good enough, and they are a whole lot better than all the paper ballots that were blown out there. Look what is happening all the other locations. You just mentioned one of them. If you know anecdotally people who are telling you they are getting ballots from all over the place for people who are not even alive, you know something is wrong. It was a mistake and the wrong thing to do. The next questions involve political ideology. A Monmouth University poll found this week that nearly half the voters in your district were bothered either a little bit or a lot by your party switch. We got a lot of questions on this from viewers. Here is one of them. What do you say to voters who voted for you as a democrat in previous elections and feel betrayed by your switch to the Republican Party . Thank you. First of all, i have to disagree with the monmouth poll a little bit. Ive seen a lot of polls say an awful lot of stuff. I walked the streets and talk to people and ive had a tremendous amount of support. Our own internal polling doesnt show that at all, which is really weird how different it is. So i would say this. People voted for me because i am jeff andrew. My whole career has been based upon the fact that i wasnt so concerned about republicans and democrats. I was concerned about standing up for south jersey, for fighting for south jersey, for believing in the people in south jersey who often dont get their fair share. People didnt vote for me just because i was a democrat. In my legislative districts, there were a whole lot more republicans and democrats, and probably more republicans voted for me than democrats. So it is voting for the individual person, and we just cant vote for the party alone. So i think that people know who i am and what i stand for, and they will vote for or against me on that basis. In the oval office, you pledged your undying support to President Trump. Do you still stand by that . What that means is, not that im going to agree with him on everything. We have some disagreements, good, solid policy issues. I have voted differently when we have voted obviously in the house of representatives. So ive been very independent and i will continue to do so. I support the presidency and i support some of the things he has done about a strong america, america that really can stand up and is number one in Energy Production, and an america that has its own supply chain, an america that really supports education, and america that will fight for the environment and other things as well. Ms. Kennedy, you come from a family well known in Atlantic County politics. You married into a family will with the wellknown political name. But you yourself have never held political office. How do you expect to get anything done with no elected political experience . Thank you, david. This is going back to the heart of why i am here, and it is because i was raised in this county, in this district. My family has lived here for four generations. A top public school. Im raising my own five kids here. I work as a Mental Health advocate, trying to make sure we are improving lives. I think people will support that kind of lived experience, because im able to bring a voice of my own community to this position. So this followup question comes from a viewer, and it pertains to where you fall on the political spectrum. A viewer asked, are there any issues with your partys president ial candidate, joe biden, on which you disagree . Thank you. I think one last night that came up was on fracking, and i was disappointed to hear that comment, of course it was something that weve heard a lot about, and i want to see us moving toward greener energy, and i think that was a step back. So you agree that there should be fracking or that there should not . I dont think we should be encouraging fracking. In a speech at the Republican National convention this summer, you said you switched parties because the Democratic Party had moved too far to the left with a radical, socialist agenda. What specifically do you think is radical and socialist about Democratic Party . Theres a number of things. Lets just start with the Green New Deal and how much that would cost, trillions of dollars. There is certainly the idea among Many Democrats that we should defund the police. Think about it. The individuals stand up for us, who keep us safe, who are willing to do anything to make sure that people actually survive whatever occurs, we should defund them . The answer is not to defund them, they should be helped more financially, and then to have more work done with community policing, where community and police come together and the community has actual meetings with the police. We can work issues out. I stand tall in my beliefs i believe in what they stand for. I stand for strong military. Many of the radical democrats do not stand for a strong military. I dont believe any nation has ever been attacked because it is too strong. I stand for not only that, but i stand for being number one in Energy Production in the world and having a good supply chain. You know what was really embarrassing . It was embarrassing after china sent us the wonderful gift of the virus, to have to go back with our tail between our legs and asked them for ppe. Never again. We should stand and have our own supply chain, produce our own stuff and ensure that we manufacture, make sure we delete and continue to be that shining city on the hill ahead of where everybody elses in the world, and help them. We now turn to the topic of health care. Mr. Andrew, this question goes to you first. The Current Administration is seeking to drag on the individual mandate in obamacare. If successful, that would mean about 19,000 constituents in your district would lose their health care, according to the most recent data from the Kaiser Family foundation. Is it your hope to see the Affordable Care act overturned . That may be very clear on this. The Affordable Care act is not as good as it should be. It is too expensive for many people, but we do not have anything good to replace it yet. I will not vote for that to happen until we have hopefully a better replacement. That is the wrong thing to do. We have to make sure that people have health care and we after absolutely have to make sure they are covered for preexisting conditions. The last time his came up in house, i did not vote to remove obamacare or to say that we wouldnt continue with the aca. We have to until we find Something Better. I also dont want to see taken away those people who have Employer Health care. If they have employersponsored health care, they should be able to keep that. We should not go to a system thats going to destroy all that. People need to also have their own doctor. Are you saying that your colleagues in congress and the president do not have an appropriate plan to replace . I would say there are some pieces of it, but for an entirely appropriate plan, i think i would need to see more of it and the value in it more before i put my signature on it. Ms. Kennedy, you support a medicare for all who want it health care plan. What should the governments role be in providing health care . 90 seconds please. Im glad we agree on the fact that we need to maintain the Affordable Care act. That is important now more than ever, i believe, and we cannot see so many go uninsured when unemployment is so high right now and people have lost their Employer Health care. I do believe that a public option for medicare would be important for people who are not able to afford that in between coverage, and that we absolutely should be able to maintain our employer package if possible. So for me, its going to be crucial as we are going around the county, we are talking to families who are worried about their health care, that they have the care that they need, the lifesaving treatment is not put off because they simply cant afford it. Estimates for public option run the gamut. With the government need to raise taxes in order to pay for this, and would you support that . I know how expensive it is, even congressman van drew talked about this on the stage, how the cost of having people have to resort to Crisis Management when they are in the emergency room really is a cost on all taxpayers. We need to be putting Preventative Care at the forefront. We need to talk about how we can make healthier lives and healthier communities, so that costs are reduced for all of us, but we also need to be able to bargain for lower Prescription Drug prices. I think that will be key to lowering Health Care Costs for all of us. Is there another option to keep the cost low without an individual mandate . Certainly, bargaining for Prescription Drugs is an idea that i agree with and is why i voted for a broad and big bill that didnt go to its final fruition that would actually lower drug costs. I think we absolutely, positively must do that and in a way where we still incentivize american experience, where we are still coming up and finding new drugs and better therapies. Secondly, i believe when we are talking about health care before, i understand her opinion, but many people disagree on the democratic side and believe all privately sponsored health care should be removed and it all should be government. We now turn to the economy. South jerseys economy is less diverse and more reliant on tourism than north jersey. Atlantic city continues to struggle after the closure of five casinos since 2014. Residents in other parts of the district are also having trouble finding work. A voter roadie and this question. I live in vineland, and yet commute to philadelphia due to the lack of good paying jobs with good benefits and south jersey. Now more than ever, i want to stay closer to home. Do you have any plans for job growth in this area . This is so important in our communities. Ive lived here near my parents, near my brothers, and thats a conversation i have had with my family. Between us, theres 12 grandchildren, and we wonder what opportunities are going to be here for our kids so that they can live down the street from their grandparents. But what we have seen is an economy that has really struggled over not just during the pandemic, but over years here, and we have to be able to diversify that economy through an investment in infrastructure. I expect that to be not just bridges and roads, which we desperately need, but things like broadband, building for our Climate Resilience that will bring good paying jobs to our area. We also need to see diversification so that we are building out research in our area, that we are building out Green Technology and the faa and we also need to support Small Businesses that have been struggling. What is your jobs for south jersey . We have to be sure to help the Tourism Industry more. One of the shameful things that have happened is that every other state in the United States of america has a plan where areas that were not hit as hard by covid raber to open up earlier. Even Governor Cuomo was able to open up Northern New York state earlier. Our numbers are far lower than other areas of the state of new jersey. The governor did not allow that to happen. Use the same standards for our people down here who couldve easily opened up other businesses. Those businesses were destroyed. Many are not there anymore. They are so weak, that they may not be able to make it into the future. I was a wrong thing to do. It was not done in most of the country. I disagree with the way that we dealt with opening up. Secondly, the plan is to work with the faa tech center. You technology to make sure that the tech center does a lot of work. I have a bill that i have worked on. I have brought support on it. We are working with the tech center to try to get this through, or they would actually be a part of working with airlines and airports to have less problems with covid issues, so that they could deal with that better. Those are the types of technological things that we need to do. We also need to do more, not all on the type of technology, but also on technologies that deal across the gamut, they want to work in lower township. That is time, mr. Bennet true. I think you may be had a fundraiser or have been seen with jim owners that have been closed down. Gym owners, knocking down doors. I did not have a fundraiser with them. I feel for them. Right here in northfield, ive probably gone there for 20 something years. I came back from washington, and they said that they are closing their doors. You are not going to be able to work out here. Businesses were close, and lives were changed, and we could have done a better job, without making people sick. We did the wrong thing. My question is, regardless of whether you agree with the order, it is a valid order and a law. An executive order. Do you think that gym ownership should i think that they were expressing the extreme frustration of hurting families and taking food out of their mouths. I think that they have to obey the laws. Ultimately, the governor padlocked their places. It did not happen here down in south jersey. Our folks obeyed, and many of them lost their businesses. I do not know if you i feel worse for. This is another question now. New jersey is one of the most diverse states in the nation. Where do you agree or disagree with the Trump Administration policy on immigration and on work visas . I think that immigration is an area where we need bipartisan work to come up with a policy and the plan of a so that we can have the word that we need here in south jersey when we need employees, but that their rights are protected and that their safety is protected. We know that that was very difficult during this pandemic to ensure safety of those who were coming in seasonally to work, and that we should be able to expand where we need to, to bring workers and. Where we have those who are qualified in our own area, we need to hire their first, and we need to ensure that employers who are not hiring legally are held accountable. The same question for you mr. Van drew. I agree that we should not have open borders. You asked me the difference between those folks on the left and what i believe. That is something that is difference. I dont agree with sanctuary cities. I think we need to look at that. I dont believe in sanctuary counties or states. That is all harmful. Let the take care of our people first. We are a nation of the rule of law. Before you ask me a question if we should obey the law with gym owners, at the end of the date we should. We have to. They should also have to obey the law. We cannot do that anymore. I also agreed that we absolutely need a new plan for immigration in general, particularly for the immigration with work visas. Our area is so dependent upon it. We use it for a few months a year. It could be a learning experience. It will calm and then they go back home. Thank you. These next questions deal with race and policing. Do you believe that systemic racism exists in america . Everyone always gives we different definitions that the average person in america hates people of other colors. I do not. If it means that there are pockets of problems sometimes in areas for some reasons, we know that that eggs this. We know that that exists. We, i believe that this country gets better and helping with these kinds of problems. Im actually jumping forward to our police. I do not believe that our average Law Enforcement official hates anybody of color. I do not believe it. I believe that they are doing a job to help us. Many people in Law Enforcement are people of color. We have asians and blacks and whites and hispanics all in Law Enforcement. I dont think that emphasizing the negative, the hurtful, if this is a kate is helpful. Emphasizing hate, it is not helpful. We need to come together and make our country and our relationships even better. I dont think what is happening in the seas now, with the destruction of buildings, and the killing and hurting a police and other people, that hurts. It hurts folks and the black communities more than it hurts anybody else. It is their homes. What is happening in portland is a shame. It is a weakkneed mayor who needs to stand up to the rule of law. Let me follow and give you 30 seconds for this. Studies show black americans are three times more likely than whites to be shot by police. Five times more likely to be incarcerated. Black children are four times more likely to live in poverty. If these are not results of systemic racism, where these disparities come from . The disparities exist because we need to do more work. We need to do more to bring us together. The disparities do not exist because the average Police Officer what he or she licks up in the morning says, i hate black people. They do not. Many people are of color themselves. We need more education about each other and how we feel about each other and what we do. When he bore education in the schools that teach young people how to deal with issues when they have an issue with an officer. We all need the education. I will say one thing. I am going to be clear. I stand by many women who died for us, get injured for us, get hurt for us, every week of the year. I stand by them. It does not mean that we cannot make this a lot better. Do you believe that systemic racism exists and america, ms. Kennedy . I do. I dont think that we are talking about racist people. That is a different thing. I think systemic racism is only talk about our policies and institutions, and how we address those. We are looking at our system of education, and i was so proud to be a teacher in new jersey that is at the top of this country in public education. I also acknowledge that we are among the most segregated schools. We have to make changes and our criminal justice system, and our education system, and policies around housing and employment and equal pay. Do you see a legislative solution to this . I do. I think it is policybased. When we see racism that exists within our systems and institutions, that it is something that we can address just like we have writing just like we have Voting Rights acts. As the title policy that we need to see apply to other institutions. Defunding the police has become a part of the mainstream conversation on police reform. How do you define defunding the police . I think it is lowering their budgets so there are less Police Officers on the street. I think you saw and some of these towns they do not want to have them anymore. Portland is an example of that. There are other areas as well. Defunding the police means that you do not want to give them adequate composition compensation for the chance they take for putting their lives on the line. Defunding the police means that they will not get the Safety Equipment to make sure that they stay alive. That they take bullets for you. Did you see the lady of the other day, the officer, an officer of color by the way, who took three bullets to the head, but was still putting a tourniquet around her partner . These are the type of people that we are talking about. Defunding takes away with a need to survive day in and out. If you want to do more good, and we can, i really believe in giving more money to have community policing, and community programs. Community meetings. A connecting the police with the community. The do not have time to do that now. Lastly, i walked around Atlantic City and talk to the islamic folks and then with ashley people. And talked with bangladeshi folks, white folks, hispanic folks, black folks. I asked what we could do to do better . They said more police. More police and Atlantic City. These are Small Business people that came here, immigrated here and are trying to make a living and a life for themselves. They cannot even feel safe. They word the every day their goods and services are going to be stolen, and that their windows are going to be smashed. They want more help and more policing, not less. Do support reforms to policing . 30 seconds. There should be reform in anything. I am a dentist. We talked about police. It is 30 seconds. It is a good parallel. The point is that there is always more you can learn and always more you can do. And supplying up buildings and hurting police and residents, lets sit down quietly and carefully in a bipartisan way together and make this happen. How do you define defunding the police, ms. Kennedy . I would not disagree with his idea of what defunding might mean. I only disagree with his accusation that i support that. I believe, as you do, that we need to have policing that are better trained and addressing bias, as we said earlier. Bias in our system needs to be addressed. When we are talking about how we move together as a country, and how we mitigate the violence that we are seeing in this nation right now, that we should be talking about solutions to that, by bringing both parties to the table. Making sure that Law Enforcement has a voice at the table as well as community members. That is verify that is a refined real buyins, and can make our communities better. Things like Mental Health and making sure that there is sufficient treatment. Everybody who is struggling in our communities could have the help that they need. Law enforcement will not have to arrive on a crisis seen so often. Said some of that come from budget set aside by Police Department . I like to see our state and local governments find it so that we could have both and place. My opponent have not supported the funding of our state and local government by our federal dollars. Thank you both. May i Say Something for a moment . Are we sticking to the rule that when we talk about that a person, that we get an additional 30 seconds . Im going to ask for the additional 30 seconds. Yes. Respectfully, during the primary, i would like to go over what you said. I support helping the local governments at the federal level due to covid. If it is regarding irresponsible budgeting, i do not think it is the job of the federal government. If the state of new york is completely irresponsible in the way that they find their budget, the people of new jersey should not have to pay for that. If we have a problem where we are all having issues because of the expenses related to covid, then the federal government should help. Ive always made that clear. Thank you. We need the funding. We need defunding now. In regards to my comments at the naacp forum that i was proud to support and, i said that there are merits to have incarceration to how we provide funding and making sure Mental Health services are available. You took that and spun it to make sure that i said i would defund the police. I never even said the word defined. You have use that in every ad and in mailers about me. When you are asked about your pledge of undying support, you are said that that is not what i meant. Youre going to put words into my mouth that i never said. I get another 30 seconds. I did not say that is what i meant. I explained what it meant. I believe i made that very clear. As far as the defunding, they were speaking of that issue, and you said there was merit to it. Merits to having a conversation. If you do not agree with having a conversation i do not think there is merit to conversing about how we would defund our police. I think it will hurt them. If i can followup for a moment. Kind of touch on something that we were thinking of. Ms. Kennedy, what would you say is the ad that your opponent is running against you that is most offensive or most false . How do you answer that . I think that i am basically cut and paste into the talking points of the republican view across the country. I would like to be seen as an individual, maybe look at my policies on my page, before slamming me as phony and liberal and elitists, radical. All of those things that, i think anyone who took a look at my website, they would say it does not seem to fit that schoolteacher. I do not think that is her. Really being able to have that conversation about what the needs are in south jersey, and she would represented best. Rather than going to that negative, nasty campaigning that we are seeing too much of, frankly. How about you . You are a little different then the homespun schoolteacher. You are tempting to achieve something different. There is nothing wrong with her differences, what you are not a little homespun schoolteacher. A lot of the ads are offensive, because sometimes we do not want to hear what is the truth. Sometimes it is too negative. Ive had more negative advertisements against me that about anybody else in this room. Ive even offered at times in the past to say that we should have a positive campaign. Only once and all of the campaigns that i ran, would somebody ever do that. Everything has a side. Otherwise, we wouldve had to pull whatever. My wife started to tell me about them, and i said i did not what to hear. Thank you. We are going to move on now. Lets talk about Climate Change. Almost all of the district either fronts the ocean or the bay. There are homes at risk of flooding. How would you work with the republicans to prevent the rising of the sea levels . I think we can find bipartisan grounds. In the Infrastructure Projects to help build Climate Resiliency and south jersey. New jersey is at the top of the list for being at risk of Climate Change. Regardless of what you believe the causes of Climate Change are, we know that we are front and center in that battle. If there is to be an investment in the infrastructure, we know that Vice President biden is hoping to achieve under the build back better plan, there would be a Real Investment here in dams and roads and bridges and levees, to make sure that we are doing what we can to provide protection for businesses, for homes, and also to invest in green energy so that we do not see further Climate Change. Do you believe that Climate Change is threatening the district, and if so, how would you work with members of your own party . Many are Climate Change deniers, but how would you protect this district . I do believe and Climate Change. Ive indicated that before. I was just a sponsor of a land and Water Conservation fund, probably one of the largest environmental bills that has ever been done the good guarantee open areas and maintaining waterways and doing good things. The bill was taken away from me, because i became a republican. It was given to a republican. The president signed it. Carbon change. Zoning, and the way that we zone, and the way that we build our houses. Building them higher. Making sure that there is venting, so if water comes into be home, it goes out of the home. That makes a big difference and Flood Insurance costs. That is another big issue. I believe that there is room for nuclear. I believe that nuclear can be clean in many countries around the world. Many are doing it. I believe in solar and incentivizing solar energy. What i do not believe in, is that sometimes we make deals with countries like china, is responsible for 20 28 of the carbon and pollution, and we give them a special deal that they can still go on and basically keep doing that, and we will pay for. We will absolutely we will actually do the right things, and they will not. Then we had to go and buy stuff from them again. A followup for you. Mr. Van drew mentioned the plan. With sandy, there were billions of dollars that had to be paid out through the program. Is that a viable option still . Should people start to think about moving away from the shoreline . I think that we still need to have Flood Insurance available. This is a community, and we know that everybody is not moving away. We are still seeing families that are not moving away. We need to make sure that we are building anyway that is going to be more resilient. We have seen people raising their houses, and so many people have left the area, but first so many that remained they need to have that protection and safeguard, and till we come up with other solutions, including the infrastructure. Our next topic is transportation. I want to ask you this question first. Bubble transportation, as we all know in south jersey continues to be scarce. This limits Economic Opportunity for residents here. We saw this two years ago. This forced workers to find alternate routes. What will you do to provide public trepidation options for south jersey . I think this is an important thing getting our economy back on its feet. We know that without reliable presentation, without an easy way to Reliable Transportation and without an easy way to commute, it will be hard for people to get to work. It will be hard for companies to invest in our area. This is about helping families that need transportation and luring other businesses into our area so that they will invest. We would have the systems and if the structure in place. I am proud to have the support of the unions to make sure that they can still have the service and expanded. We will need federal dollars to help come in in support. To help make church hesitation is a priority. What specific industries which you look into to bring jobs here . Are there specific sectors that you would look to target . I think that what we have seen as that distribution could be an option in our area, if we were to have in place the systems that we need surrounding the Atlantic City airport. They had the capacity to be there, but we do not have the roads set up to easily get out to places that they need. The airport itself went itself to distribution. Sent question to you, mr. Van drew, regarding Public Transportation in south jersey. This is a good question. To remind everyone, when the Jersey Transit close down and was not having their line between Atlantic City and philadelphia, i think your member how hard i thought and how much noise i made to make sure that we got it back, because we were going to lose it. It was dr. Going to get worse. It was really terrible. These folks do not want to be down here with the blessed service, because we do not have the numbers and the wintertime. They were looking to cut back as well. I can give you a list of the mayors. We need to do better. One of the ideas may be for smaller units of transportation. We may not need these big pluses and all of our areas down here. These big pluses and all of our areas down here. By the way, when we finally do an infrastructure bill, which we have not done, because we have been playing so much politics, so many investigations and impeachments. We did not get to a law of the work. A lot of the questions youre talking about to not have the final answers that they should because of went on and congress. Thank you to you both. We are going to have to move now into a round of quick questions and answers. Please take no more than 30 seconds. Each candidate will answer every question. There will be no rebuttals. I like to ask you first, ms. Kennedy. Over the last 70 years, taxpayers have spent money on beach replenishment projects along the shore. Do think that this is an appropriate longterm solution to beach erosion . I think in the short term, we need to continue to do it for our tourism. If there are more viable longterm solutions, i will use that. For now, it is what we need to do to add to our sourced economy, to make sure that people still want to come here for the beach. Thank you. The bottom line is that we still need to do this. Nobody has come up with a better answer. The answer is to not completely retreat from the shore. For now, this is what we need to do. If we can find Something Better in the future, lets do it. Lets at least experiment with it, and see if it works. I want to move on to the Supreme Court. The Senate Judiciary committee is set to begin confirmation hearings for judge Amy Coney Barrett on october 12. This comes four years after the republicans denied president obama his nominee with 34 weeks before the election. Is moving forward with this appropriate . I think it is appropriate. It is up to the president. If she has the votes and the senate, then she would become the next Supreme Court justice. Justice. This is not unique. It is been done many times, when they have only been a certain number of weeks to go forward and do this. As long as the job is done thoroughly, properly, and efficiency, i do not see an issue with it. It was a little bit different back then. But back then the majority and Minority Party were different. I would like to see consistency. I think the American People would like to see consistency. What was done for years ago should be appropriate now. That is what voters are asking for. People just want to know that the same rules will apply. Moving on to a sort of related question which involves abortion. Access to legal abortion, should that be maintained . I am prochoice and i think that the law should be maintained. I will continue to fight for women be productive rights. I think you have to qualify that a bit. Do i support late term abortion . I do not. With what we know in todays times, and what we can see with the science, do i support live birth abortion . I do not. I think that is wrong as well. I think it depends, it has to be qualified. To support abortion under any circumstance . If it is the life of the mother, rape and incest, without question. Support a ban on military style assault weapons . I support universal background checks. I am a gun owner, and i believe in the second amendment. In new jersey, we reduced the size of a magazine. I went to the gun store and had a size of my magazine reduced. As i was standing there, i thought that the next criminal would be sure to go in there, and before he murders someone, is going to get his magazine size reduced. This is nonsense. We need to punish those who are committing the crimes. Ms. Kennedy, same question. Teaching school, i had to train our kids how to hide in corners and under their desks and do these shows. Do these drills, because we have not come up with good changes to make sure that we are using common sense the gun laws. I support the ones that you mentioned. We are moving and need to make sure that the universal contracts that are in place are also going to be in place for our children. They deserve safety in schools, and they deserve it. Moving to marijuana. Even if new jersey voters elect to legalize marijuana this november, it would still be classified as a scheduled one controlled substance on the federal level. You support removing it from that list . We need to be able to do the research and science if not possible. When we are talking about medical uses, we want the science there to back it up and supported. I do as well. This is about Social Security. The president has expressed desire to end the payroll tax that funds Social Security. What is your response to that proposal . Because of the inaction of congress and all that has gone on, people need more money in your pocket right now. People are in trouble financially. A good number of them are. I support the payroll tax cut. We have to push to get the economy going next year. That will have to be repaid. I do not support the changes that President Trump made. Our community, south jersey, so many people rely on Social Security benefits. We cannot afford to put it in jeopardy like this. Very successful during the sars, we saw big corporations that were very successful during this virus, and this is unacceptable. The cdc recommends wearing a Face Covering in public when social distancing is not possible. Mr. Van drew, would you support a federal mandate for mask wearing . Each state is different. What wyoming and north dakota needs to do may be very different than what the city of washington or the city of newark has to do. There is a little bit of state rights here. I would support the idea that we should all be careful in doing what is medically correct. There are good doctors and good leaders that can make the decisions about the mask mandate. I would have to see what the parameters were and what they qualified percent of people that had covid were for it to be nationwide. Otherwise, i would agree and support that on a local basis. This will be our last question of the evening. As we sit here, socially distanced, will you get a Coronavirus Vaccine as soon as it becomes publicly available . I will get a Coronavirus Vaccine as soon it is available, provided that the fda has approved it, and that science has said that it is safe to do. I know that it will be, and i am hopeful that this will be something that we can all as a nation move forward. Yes, i will. Thank you, and thank each to the candidates. Were going to go now to closing statements. By prior agreement with the candidates, mr. Van drew will get his first. 60 seconds please. Thank you for debating with me. Thank you all for the wonderful job that you did. It is an honor to be here, and it is an honor to be in america. I love this country, and this country has been so amazingly good to me. To think that i am a United States congressman, and i was not a wealthy person growing up. I was able to become a dentist, all because of the freedoms that we have. The amazing nature and exceptionalism of this country. The americanism of this country and the right to reach for the brass ring and do better and do more. I think that this election is one of the most if not the most important election since the civil war. I think it really matters. I would say to the people watching and listening, if you care about america, and if you want to live in and be in the america that you have always known, and that you have always loved, and the has been so good to our children and grandchildren, and hopefully our greatgrandchildren in the future, that this election matters a lot. Im not going to be crude enough to who you should vote for, i think you can figure it out. Thank you so much. I am four generations south jersey, and i am running because i love my home. I love where i live, and i am raising my five kids here. When i taught in the community school, i worked to prevent barriers so children could be successful. I want to do that in congress, that we be sure to include our entire community and helping achieve access for south jersey. For too long, it has been ignored. For too long, people have not showed up to do the job. You deserve a congressperson who is going to work hard for you every day, and make the changes that we need to see to get out health care and economy back on its feet. Thank you. That concludes the debate portion of this evening. We want to thank both of our candidates. Candidates to be missouris take part in a televised debate. The Missouri Press association is sponsoring the event. Watch live beginning at 3 00 eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org, or listen with the free cspan radio app. Evening, colorado incumbent republican Senator Cory Gardner and his democratic challenger participate in a televised debate. Hosted by cpr news. Watch live coverage beginning at 7 00 eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org, or listen on the free cspan radio app. 35 of the 100 seats in the u. S. Senate are up for election this year. One of them is in wyoming where mike nc is retiring. The candidates faceoff to fill the seat. The race is rated republican. This debate is just under an hour. Wyoming pbs and wyoming public media present the election 2020, the debate for u. S. Senate