Southwest texas juniorcollege andso the satellite location here in new valley. I am steve switzer. This is a year like no other. This is an election like no other. S ea and this is a debate like no other. We are here in a mostly empty reauditorium the pandemic is required that. And you might Notice Center stage is at eight by 12 plexiglass wall. A part of what we will do tonight is politics through the lexi glass. We only had our photographers in this auditorium we are following strict protocols the three of us are on stage. The two candidates in myself and we had people from southwest texas juniorcollege. We are thrilled to be bringing this to you as i said off the top from the heart of district 23. I also want to say we havert the time keeper who is to my right. She is going to be keeping time sheoi is from this area to send her im glad we can cut down on your commute. Two people who want to take over the Office Currently held by congressman will hard. The first democratic among her endorsements former Vice President and current president ial nominee joe biden. Her opponent republican Tony Gonzalez who is backed by our current president donald trump. Tonight these two a square off square off for the first time facetoface i want to again fa Tina Ortiz Jones and Tony Gonzalez. Thank you for being here tonight. Y y i will be giving all of the questions but we do had questions submitted online and on camera from viewers right here. For most of the questions the respondents well had one minute to answer and then i as moderator have the option to expand on those answers with 32d allotments for the candidates to answer. We will have a Rapid Response round were each candidate well had 45 seconds to answer i again have discretion to expand on those answers or at any timeto to interrupt if i dont feel like the question is being answered. We dont have Opening Statements but we do head closing statements. Tony gonzalez won the coin toss. You get the first question tonight. We dont have Opening Statements i want to know more about you as a person not just you as a politician so im and ask each in ask each of you the first question. No rebuttal required. What is the biggest personal that you have overcome to be on the stage tonight . First off tales never fails. I am thankful for this debate. Im thankful for dr. Gonzales and president gallego for being a part of this. For me my life has never been easy. At two months old i was abandoned by my father five years old i grew up in a battered womens shelter. I have lived on myy own since i was 15 years old. I joined the navy at 18 years old without a high school diploma. Twenty years later i retired as a master chief. Now im finishing up my phd. This race for me is about the American Dream. No matter where you start in life you can do and you can be anything. It doesnt matter the color of your skin it doesnt matter if you come from a small town or big city. T this is america and here we can do anything. Thank you mr. Gonzalez. Gina ortiz jones you get the same question. What is the biggest personal challenge you have overcome to be on the stage tonight. Thank you for hosting us. Thank you at home for joining us this evening. I want to express my prayers to those of you that are still suffering during the pandemic and economic crisis. 40 my story starts over 40 years ago. My mom came chasing the American Dream. She remains us every single day that we were just so lucky to be born in this country we have to get back to a country that gave us so much. Its white my sister serves in the navy to this day. I amend this fight. That starts with quality Affordable Healthcare. I know the opportunityst. Grow up healthy and get an education and serve our country. Im in this fight to make sure every working family has the same fighting chance that i have were at our best. We invest in the most vulnerable. I see firsthand the importance of American Leadership thats why am in this race to make sure we get our country back on the right track. I want to get right to some questions the viewers have. But issues that have been front and center on both of your advertisements that we see quite often on televisionen for both candidates this question is from the viewer wanda. Where do you live now and how long had you lived there. Im a proud product of 7245. The first communion at saint rose. I am proud to be a product of san antonio. Working to protect our national and economic security. I came back to take care of my mom when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. I live in the home that i grew up in. Part of the community that has invested in me. Ha based on the election. I knew i have to make sure my community was will represented. Protect the opportunities. I came back in 2017 to make sure my community was will represented. Tony same question for you. Where do you live now and how long had you lived there. I spent some time growing up not too far from here. I live in san antonio. I am raising my family there. This district deserves someone who is going to roll up their sleeves and go to work every single day. Av this is an issue where my opponent and i differ. These are the facts. She has property in washington dc. These are the facts she claimed a homestead in washington dc. These are the facts. She does not visit the district. In the past week i had visited. The people of district 23 deserve ade representative that will roll up their sleeves and go to work not a virtual representation. I want to give you some rebuttal time. On the charges he made that you have a propertys not here that you dont really have a homestead exemption here. I am proud to have served our country for almost 15 years. Ie when my country ask me to go to iraq. I went. When they asked me at Fort Leavenworth i went. I am proud to serve our country i look forward to bringing those experience to this district. I opponent knows better. My opponent also owns property out of the state. This is Tony Gonzalez doing and saying whatever he thinks will get him to congress. Im going to move on. This is for you. You will represent a rich and diverse area. Diverse in landscape. And also in race. The next question has to do with the last president ial debate in the story that was in the huntington post. St during an instagram interview i want to give you the opportunity. Do you condemn white supremacist. And it President Trump make a mistake by not clearly doing so in the first president ial debate . I have served c c 20 years in te military. What i have learned is politics is ridiculous. To ask a a mexicanamerican zero by the way the only hispanic in this race if i condemned the kkk of course i condemned them. Of course i condemn terrorist organizations. Can my opponent say the same thing . This is about the district dont get distracted. It varies, rely regardless to earl been. And everything in the between. It focuses on oil and gas. His race an issue . Yes. We should be talking about the people that are dying of a trend to the families that are broken. See make you condemn the white supremacist organization. Im going to ask you that question. The kkk as a terrorist organization and its unfortunate that my opponent struggled to answer that very basic question. This is about Tony Gonzalez doing whatever he thinks will get him to congress. Y he have just on saint unsafe ae very basic fact like that. Where when he says hes actually going to eliminate the aca and the protections with preexisting conditions. Ti during the pandemic. If you want to talk wellbeing at a touch with the district. Taking someones Health Care Healthcare away during a pandemic and then by the wayay when we can have the opportunity to help working families and help them get back on their feet what is tony say we cantay get working families more help. Lets just at home and watch netflix. Single moms trying to take care of their kids. And put food on their table. That was my family. So Tony Gonzalez is out of touch. Hes willing to take away your healthcare. I we are going to get to healthcare. Do you condemn nt for an mf 313. Any organizations that participates in violence like that should be condemned. Heres the thing. A year ago i diedco i struggled with preexisting conditions every day. I will always fight for those that are struggling with preexisting conditions. My opponent will lie, steal and cheat. It took her over a minute to oppose nt for. I support law and order. There will be a lot of differences. Looks get to some of the questions that we heard. I talked to people on campus here to hear from the voters to hear what are the topics that mean the most to them. What are their concerns what keeps them up at night. You will hear concerns throughout tonights debate. We will have the pursuit of scientific truth. All of the many issues affecting the country. Esti this quest for the emerging truth. Nowadays we see that there is denial of Scientific Evidence interest happens even at the highest level of government. That is one thing that keeps me up at night is the attitude towards science and what it seeks to do . I want to give you this question first. Will you follow the science. Is it covidol or Climate Change or pollution and the science that doesnt line up with what your Political Party believes. In this case the president ial party. My entire career has been in service to our country. The Intelligence Officer in the air force. It is always been about putting country above everything else. I look forward to doing this in service to this district. We need to be listening to a medical expert and when they mask minimizer minimize your ex tivoli outside of your home. Practice good hygiene we should absolutely do that. Thats how we get this under control. Unfortunately, my opponent has put his political ambitions over the medical guidance of these experts. Over the last couple of months he has been Holding Indoor activities mask list putting has political conditions about that. But for tony this is just about getting to congress. He is willing to sacrifice anyone in our economy to get there. I want to ask you the same question. Will you follow the science of covid of Climate Change or pollution thank you. My opponent is a liberal left democrat. The first vote in office is going to be elect nancy pelosi as the next speaker of house. That is her first vote. Me on the other hand i believe in this district. This is about the people of district 22. The people of district 23. And yes, i have made my way around this district time and time again. I have done it safely. With a mask and sanitizer. Here is the thing. Our nation needs to get back to work. We need to get back to school. We need to get back to church and we need to open up our border with mexico. For economic purposes. If youre in the district notse being a virtual representative. I want to give you a 32nd rebuttal time for this. If you care about this district that has been hit hard by covid san antonio bear county weve had one of the highest related fatalities of any one. 19 . We will have survival. They need quality Affordable Healthcare. My health care opponent. People need quality Affordable Healthcare. The only thing right now that protects people from Insurance Companies kicking up the coverage. And jacking up the premium as if they have a preexisting condition. N. I have a preexisting condition. Why would i take that away from myself. I believe in protecting people with preexisting conditions. I will always fight for that. This morning i was in eagle pass at a Food Distribution event in the lines were as far as the eye could see people are hurting and they need help. Will get to questions about covid and the economy. Hopefully if we have enough time. Xi we want to get to the next question from campus. My biggest concern is probably this balancing act that needs to be performed between the safety of our citizens and the economic consequences of those safety measures. So what keeps me up at night is is it going to go off the rails one way or another. I know it is an extremely tough in difficult position for politicians to be in. I think both of those sites had to be considered as opposed to just one side or another. The question is all about covid. How do we balance the safety of people in the district versus the Economic Impact of covid closures. How do we not put people at risk but still open up and grow the economy. Thank you for that question. Everybody is hurting and we have to get back to work, it is the way we solve our economic problems. The way we do that is we come together this isnt about being republican or democrat or independent. We are americans. We are all hurting. Covid doesnt just pick a party it picks everybody. I was in el paso a couple weeks ago. She works as an executive assistant in el paso she lives there. Every morning she has to get up two hours early to make it over the bridge she works a full day has to make it home and it takes her a next or two hours to get home. That is wrong. We have to safely reopen our borders for economic purposes for places like el paso, that is one community. This is about americansns not a party. How do you balance the safety of people in the district versus the Economic Impact. How do we not put people at risk but still open up and grow the economy. They have said time and time again the way that we open up the economy is by addressing this pandemic. We still dont have a National Testing strategy. We dont have enough contact tracers. We need to start there so we can safely open up the economy. We need to get help to working families and business owners. When you have an opponent like i do. It shows you who has true loyalty is. You are hearing tonight two very different visions. They need quality Affordable Healthcare. Its protections for people withrt preexisting conditions. During a pandemic. My loyalty is to this district i love district 23. They have lost 260 million of retail revenue. Because of that border. That opponent would know that. But she doesnt. Oe he doesnt have an answer. All he does is attacked me. Thats ridiculous. We need quality Affordable Health care. Lets move on because well get into healthcare i i hope ie keep the time to a minimum. Lets go to our next campus question from a student here southwest texas juniorcollege. My mom is a teacher at morale is junior high and she has diabetes so she is not especially the high risk if she catches covid, like earth mortality rate is higher than the average population so ive been worried about reopening schoolsec specifically. I know from her talking about, they are doing like flex classes for substance in person and some students are online. She talked about it being a mess so far. Im concerned about the reopening of schools. Caitlyn is a student here southwest texas juniorcollege. She asks, whatio about education in the pandemic . Are we doing enough to protect teachers and students . Do they have the proper resources . Should schools even be open right now . Thank you for the question and Public Education is personal for me. Not only am i proud product of the Public Education im a daughter of a public educator. Public education is a a great equalizer in our country and its so important that we get our Young Students and her teachers back into the classroom as safely as possible and its unfortunate that from the administration to the state level that we have had leaders denying stumbling and distracting. My opponent in fact, enable said President Trump was doing a fantastic job, and we see what that has gotten us. Tony will say and do whatever he thinks will get him to congress. We need to make sure with adequate testing, Contact Tracing systems can get back in the classroom and make sure we safely open up our economy and ensure kids are receiving the quality education they deserve. What about education and the pandemic . I was doing enough to protect teachers and students . To the have the proper resources . Should schools be open right of . Education is everything to our country. We need to invest in education. Im a proud part of the public school. I have six children. My children have gone to public school, private school, home school, religious schools and charter schools. We have done it all and we have to do it safely. A sixyearold emanuel just had a birthday last week. He went to school in prek. Aay did his first date earlier this week and we were as excited as can be. Why . Because school is exciting. Our children need to go to school because its more than just education. Its social interaction. Its development. Its nutrition. Its healthcare. Its all of it and went to get back to school. We can do it safely progress to do it together. We have to listen to experts paragraph respect one another. And our next campus question. What is something you are worried about . Something that may keep you up at night . Veterans getting disability they need. My husband and myself are veterans. He does have Service Related injuries he cannot get the disability he needs. I have just billed as well. I have disability as well. My brotherinlaw has had eight surgeries, sixpack and two hip, one hip replacement, he has been trying to get this ability since 2012 and has been denied three times. She is a veteran and so is her husband and theyre having trouble getting disability. Mr. Gonzales . We received a similar question from a viewer, utterance yourselves, and as veterans yourself veterans yourselves, and as a military brat and veteran, i see veterans that if its getting cut more and more. Tony i will fight for veterans. I served 20 is in the military, and a rock and in afghanistan and it is not just about the veterans. It is about their families. The sacrifices our brave men and women make every single day. I am proud to help. When i served on capitol hill to help as a fellow, to pass the ba account billy act. Acthe v. A. Accountability that allowed us to fire bureaucrats who are not doing their job. We need a lot to do that. When i went to office i would be a voice for veterans. My opponent i appreciate your service. She claimed her time in service was a job. Serving in the military is not a job i am afraid. It is the duty, it is a service, anyone that serves. If you are in the military, Police Officer or a Border Patrol agent, it is not a job. Jones,gina ortiz veterans benefits. This your says she sees them getting cut more and more. We fight to protect veteran benefits . Gina absolutely. Im a Proud Air Force veteran. A proud iraq veteran. I know how important it is that we keep the promise our country made to art my fellow mothers and sisters in arms. I get my own care to the v. A. And i know there are improvements that can be made there. And i look forward to working with anyone on whatever side of the aisle to make sure we get that done. And make sure we bring better ba services to our veterans in rural communities. My opponent again supports bill amending the aca including eliminating protections for people with preexisting conditions. That is 500,000 veterans to him that would apply. I do not need to be lectured by Tony Gonzales on what duty means. Tony gonzales was silent in this president insulted our Fallen Heroes, call them suckers and losers. So excuse me if i do not have faith in Tony Gonzalesability to stand up for veterans when you cannot even stand up for our Fallen Heroes. Steve i want to let you respond to that. Ms. Jones, please stop. I have already said it and i will set again, ive a preexisting condition and i will always, always fight for those with preexisting conditions. This is about veterans and i love veterans. I wear this bracelet and it says do not give into the war within, because the v. A. Is broken and we need somebody that is going to fight for it and that starts with Mental Health awareness and resources for Mental Health. Shee with all the respect asked you about the statements the president allegedly made about calling veterans suckers, and losers. He has been very critical of john mccain and his time, the late senator from arizona. You have not made a Public Statement about those words. Will you make one right now . Tony absolutely. This is not about the president. This is about the district. I do not always agree with the president and i do not appreciate the president attacking veterans. I will always defend and fight for veterans. Steve all right, lets move on. We are going to talk about health care now. That started with health care that leads us into a topic both of you have hit hard on your commercials and during this debate so far. We are from a lot of people concerned about protecting coverage for those with preexisting conditions. If the a formal care act is repealed by the Supreme Court, what we do to ensure texans are provided Affordable Health care that covers preexisting conditions . I want specifics. What we do to protect people with preexisting conditions . Gina ortiz jones first . Gina health is so personal to me. It was health care that saved my moms life when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Id come back for my deployment. I will never forget standing in her kitchen when she told me she was diagnosed with colon cancer. The fear that i could list my mom. The fear that it could bankrupt us. The fear that i could lose my mom. I want to make sure everyone has access to the same quality care that my mom that which allowed her to be cancer and be with us today. Again, this comes down to people having access to quality, ford will health care. That is quality Affordable Health care. I support protecting and expanding aca and providing a public auction public option. My opponent wants to peel the aca. Folks with asthma and diabetes and it is unfortunate during a pandemic my opponent supports that lawsuit. Supports that lawsuit that would take away health care ring a pendant. It shows you supports a lawsuit that would take away health care during a pandemic. Steve same question. Isthe Affordable Care act repealed by the Supreme Court what we do to ensure texans are provided Affordable Health care that covers preexisting conditions . Be specific about what your plan is . Tony absolutely and i keep hearing from my opponent. Theres a term in spanish. Without, stop with the lies, this is about the district, this about the people. To me this is about increasing access. It is about improving the quality of care. What will i do . I will ensure aca is broken. As i have made my way around the district i hear that time and time again. Right from are all hospitals, right . It is broken, right . She wants to take away private insurance for millions of people and that is wrong, i believe increased funding for Community Health centers, id leave and ensuring private practices have are protected from lawsuits. At the end of the day this is about americans coming together and solving one of the most difficult problems in our country, health care. Steve please correct me if im wrong. I have not heard of a health plan that covers preexisting conditions that is not the Affordable Care act . Do you support the Supreme Court overthrowing the Affordable Care act . Tony i support the next version of the informal of the Affordable Care act to have preexisting conditions abetted and it, thats important. This is what we have, we have a broken congress, we have the left and the right and all they want to do is fight and oh by the way, my opponent is funded by black groups, liberal groups that fund her. All right, gina ortiz jones, time to answer those charges . Have beene, you unfortunately unsuccessful as have many other reporters, and asking him how hes going to protect the 300,000 people in texas 23 that have at least one preexisting condition. How are you going to do it . He cannot answer that question. He does not have a plan. Washington republicans have been talking about replacement for 10 years. 10 years they have no plan. It is the same empty promise. We are going to do it, were going to do it, at the same time they want to 11 eight the one thing between insurance they want to eliminate the one thing between Insurance Companies and people with preexisting conditions. Without the aca we go back to a time when Insurance Companies could deny you covered, jack up your premiums just because you have a preexisting condition. I am on the side of working families and i know why this is so important. Tony gonzales continues to show that on the issue that is the most part to this district, to our country, he does not have a plan. He is focused on getting himself to congress and he will take away your health care to do so. Steve mr. Gonzales come up to have a plan to protect preexisting conditions . Is there a plan i do not know of . That protects preexisting conditions . Tony aca is broken, right . The next, everyone agrees on that, my opponent is for a government funded, government mandated health care, which is going to strip away private insurance. That is wrong. Steve we are talking about preexisting conditions. Tony my plan includes preexisting conditions because i have one. That foughtd women alongside me have preexisting conditions. This is about taking care of people not politics. See why our nation is broken, because people will not come together and solve our nations problems. Steve all right, lets move on. I want to talk about the border. We have a short time to cover a lot of issues tonight. A huge part of this district stretches along the border. Mr. Gonzales, is a border wall a good idea . Are you in favor of making it easier to legally immigrate to this country . How would you handle ilLegal Immigration . Tony i was just on the border, i was in eagle pass a week and a half ago and i did a tour with the Border Patrol agent and it is amazing what our men and women in uniform to everyday, right . Just earlier this week in del rio, our Border Patrol agents saved a young mans life that was trying to enter our country illegally. Right . They do this every day and they get no thanks for. My plan includes this, while where it makes sense a wall where it it makes sense. And resources for people doing the job, dhs, ice, but that is not enough, we have to add technology to the equation. At the end of the day this is about Legal Immigration reform. I have been pushing for Legal Immigration reform and i would like to move the conversation from are you for the wall or against the wall, two argue for the American Dream . And by the way to argue for the American Dream . The American Dream does not always start in america . Steve i remind you i asked the question are you in favor of making it easier to legally immigrate . Tony absolutely. Steve it was part of this question so i wanted to point out that as part of this discussion. Gina ortiz jones . Are you in favor of a border wall, are you in favor of making it easier to legally immigrate to this country and how would you handle ilLegal Immigration . Gina im a proud firstgeneration american. My mom came to this country 40 years ago. I know how special our country is. I know how important it is we have immigration policies that reflect our values. That is why im so committed to making sure we passed a clean dream act and put these young people who are as american in every sense of the world on a path to citizenship. My opponent, he is changing it up tonight, he has said he wants to finish the wall, right . Oft is a 15 million waste an ineffective border wall, that we could obviously use those moneys in a different way. Lets also never forget that border wall steals from our military bases. When i talk to leaders on the border, they do not want a border wall. Half the citys revenue in giggle pass is based on those two international bridges. When i talk in eagle pass and dell, they want more bridges. They want infrastructure that will allow them to be economically competitive. Because that is additional revenue for their streets and schools and hospitals. Steve quickly on the question of the border wall, should be finished . When sheopponent says talks to people, what, via zoom . Steve we are talking about the border, are you in support of finishing the border wall . Tony you have to actually visit the border to have a position on the border, you cannot zoom your way through being a representative, this is about the people of this district. I was just in eagle pass this morning, you know what i would love for us to talk about, creating a third bridge to build that Economic Opportunity between our two great countries. Steve time is up. Gina the reality is we cannot spend money on everything, right . My opponent wants to spend 15 billion on a wasteful, ineffective border wall and steal from the military to do so. Stare from cap bolus, still from fort bliss. Steal from fort bliss. We need to make sure we are working with Law Enforcement and with our Border Patrol to make sure our policies are as effective as possible. We should work with Border Patrol, not make them props in our commercials. Tony i have to briefly respond. Steve go ahead. Tony im not going to steal money from the military. I make 20 or combat veteran. Supporting basis. Unlike my opponent. Steve we are going to talk about brack coming up and talk about protecting our bases. I want to get to our Rapid Response, 45 second answers for each candidate. Hopefully no rebuttal but i will grant one if needed. Rapid response. An engineer im not sure if im going to have a job once i graduate until 2022. Am i going a job by then . Am i be lost without a job . That is my main concern. Am i going to be lost without a job . Steve that is a main concern with College Students across the board. Without a plummet continuing to with unemployment continuing to rise, with every jobs for College Students when they graduate . He is studying Petroleum Engineering and wants to know if there is a future and truly mentioning for him . Gina ortiz jones. Gina it is so important we are committed to opening our economy as safely as possible and making sure our economic recovery is as inclusive as possible. That starts with addressing the pandemic. I want to make sure texas remains a leader when it comes to the Energy Sector and in particular clean energy. 25 of the countrys wind energy is produced in our state, where the fifth largest producer of solar. When it comes to clean energy and the Energy Sector we have to compete and lead, not get left behind. That is why want to invest in the additional infrastructure, advanced skills training, that makes our region as competitive as possible, so we can bring good paying jobs to texas 23, and remain the leader in the Energy Sector that we are and to continue to be. A plummet rising, uncertainty with covid with on employment rising, with unemployment rising, and covid. And this joma is worried about the future of petroleum this student is worried about the future Petroleum Engineering. Tony my candidacy is about bringing Job Opportunities to this district and not stop that starts by protecting the Job Opportunities we have, the oil and gas industry that feed so many families throughout this district. My opponent is for agree new deal. For a green new deal. Im about dignity of work fighting hard every day for bluecollar americans. I was just out west texas and the echo is the same, we need help, we need jobs, we need to reopen the economy, we need to get things back knowing and that starts by protecting our energy industry. Steve i want to ask you a question quickly he brought up. Are you in favor of the green new deal, gina ortiz does . Gina im not in favor of that green new deal. I am in favor of us making the investments in clean energy that ensure we continue to lead. Right on the street one of the largest solar farms in the entire state. You cannot drive west texas without a windfarm or a solar farm. These are good, paying jobs. We need to invest in people, invest in the infrastructure, so we are competitive. Invest in storage cannot storage technology. Investing carbon capture. Make sure we are a leader when it comes to energy and so we are not left behind. Steve weve commit to protecting the Area Military bases at all costs, when and if another round of base closures is required . You brought up rack earlier, elaborate on that 45 seconds. Tony i love my brothers and sisters in uniform. I spent 20 years in the military. My family vaulted into the middle class because my grandfather was a world war ii veteran. He works at Kelly Air Force base as an airplane electrician and because of that he vaulted us into the middle class. Guess what . Washington bureaucrats closed kelly and those jobs are gone. My opponent is on the record saying she believes the pentagon has the best choice. To me this is not about a party. This is about a policy, and the people of district when he three. Of district 23, that is what i will fight for everyday. Steve we commit to protecting the Area Military bases at all costs if and when another round of base closures is required . Gina i do not support closing military bases and my opponent knows this. Im a proud iraq war veteran. I trained at Lackland Air Force base. My first assignment was kelly annex. I worked at fort houston with u. S. Army south. I came back to help my mom which is battling cancer. I spent 13 years of my career working on a military base and i know exactly how important our military bases are to our national security. With my background from having worked in a rack to the executive office of the president , i am best positioned to bring more military business to this district. Atopponent supports billy 15 billion border wall that stills from the military 815 billion border wall that steals from the military. Steve mr. Gonzales, do you think you are defunding military bases by supporting the border wall . Tony i do not support that. I support the u. S. Military. This is congresss job to complete. My opponent continues to attack throughout. This is about the district, the people of district 23. When she says her time the military was a job she is disconnected, a washington bureaucrat. Steve lets move on. Gina let me address that, he is attacking my character. Look, my opponent was silent when this president called our Fallen Heroes suckers and losers. Ps that nothing to say in the facebook reports that russia has placed bounties on our Service Members heads in afghanistan. Nothing to say when this demonstration failed to act in so many ways. And in making sure our men and women have the resources they need. Again, Tony Gonzales is focused on getting himself to congress and he will say or do anything including defunding military bases. Steve a quick word. Tony are you having fun yet . There is a reason why. I think it is clear tonight. Gina so lets declare. Lets be clear. The san Antonio Express news clarified and pointed out my opponent has been lying about this. It is unfortunate because i know there is something at home now who has lost somebody to covid19. Somebody trying to figure out how they are going to put food on the table, pay the rent and they tune in tonight to hear my opponent launching these baseless attacks, lies. We deserve better. We deserve at the least somebody who is going to protect our preexisting conditions, make sure everyone has quality formal health care. Steve youre maintaining you have been campaigning in the district. Gina my last inperson event was in march. Our medical experts have said we need to minimize activity out of the home. We need to wear a mask. I follow medical experts advice. Militarys doctors deployed here, that is how bad it was in our community. There are still some communities with a 15 positivity rate. So we have been on connecting with voters. And im proud of the work we have done. I will always prioritize the health and voters here. Unlike my opponent doing indoor mask list event placing his put a clan but above our health and is opening economy safely and as rapidly as possible. Tony i will be brief. Seat said out of her own words she has not been active since march. Steve she did not say she is not an active. She said she has been following the science. Tony look, i appreciate zoom as much is the next person but you cannot zoom your way to a food bank or blood bank. This district deserves more than a virtual representative. Gina families deserve more help and what it families asked if they should get more help, he said they will stand home and watch netflix. Not only will he not help working families but he wants to insult them. Tony i believe in another round of stimulus checks and i think thats important. Everybody is hurting. The president of the United States set i will sign in lot my opponent is backed by nancy pelosi we are going to move onto the next campus question. I would like to ask what should be the federal governments response, if any, when the constitutional right of protest conflicts with the protection of private property . Weve seen the images and the videos from protesting. The vast majority i want to point out have been peaceful protests, but damaged buildings and a argument over protecting private property has been raised. Of you,tion to both what should the federal governments response be, if any, when the constitutional right to protest conflicts with the protection of private property . Having taken the owes to support and defend our constitution, i will always support somebodys right to peaceful protest. I dont support violence in any way, though, especially the distraction of property. When it comes to Law Enforcement, we know that the vast majority of cops show up every day and do what we need them to do to protect our communities. Killingve seen with the of george floyd is not everyone is treated equally in our justice system, so it is important we make needed reforms to make sure our communities are as safe as possible. Isa for doing this with law icement, making sure support doing this with Law Enforcement, making sure communities are safe as possible. Moderator what should the federal response be, if any, if freedom of protest conflicts with private property . George floyd should be alive today and this is an issue in our country we should come together to discuss but cant because we are so divided. We cant even have a civil discussion. I believe in the first amendment. I served 20 years, fought in two wars, and believe in civil protests. That is good for our nation but thats not what we are seeing. And imeeing chaos proud to support Law Enforcement. Im proud to be endorsed by the Police Officers association and el paso municipal police, eagle pass Police Officers. My opponent supports defunding and d militarizing our Law Enforcement. That is dangerous. Ms. Jones i do not support defunding the police. My opponent knows this. He continues to say and do whatever he thinks will get him to congress, and he keeps talking about not having unity in our country. When asked because if the kkk is a terrorist organization, he didnt have the courage to say it was. Aboute to be very clear how we work with Law Enforcement to make sure our communities are as safe as possible. Moderator i want to get to closing statements. We can be going back and forth for a long time, but it is time statements. I appreciate both of your time. Each of you will have no longer than two minutes. Mr. Gonzales, you first. Mr. Gonzales thank you, everybody for tuning in tonight. I appreciate the people of district 23. Here. Aising my family i have traveled the district time and again because i believe in this district. Fight for the district and put the district first, whether eagle pass, della , i, el paso, Fort Stockton will fight and protect you. I believe in the American Dream. My life is the American Dream. A year ago, i died. I praise god that he pulled me out of that and set me on my journey. I will always protect preexisting conditions. You know, it couldnt be more different, the two of us. I believe in the second amendment. She believes in taking guns away. I believe in the oil and gas industry, she believes in the green new deal. I believe in Law Enforcement, she believes in defunding. I believe in protecting the sanctity of life. My opponent believes in federal funding for abortions. Ask you come help us win and push back against the washington kratz. Go to our bureaucrats. Website, follow us on facebook, twitter, give us a call. In. K you for tuning god bless everybody. You have two minutes. Ms. Jones thank you for hosting us, thank you for joining us from your home. My story starts over 40 years ago and i know how important our countrys example is. I look forward to protecting the opportunities that have allowed me to grow up healthy and serve our country. Those were opportunities i had because our country invested in me. Ive lived the American Dream and my service to our country as an Intelligence Officer in the deploying to iraq, advising in operations all over latin america, africa, and working in the office of the president. See hown able to indispensable American Leadership is and as working families are struggling right we get is so important our country back on the right track and that starts with people having access to quality, Affordable Health care. You heard two very different visions for texas tonight. My vision includes families having Quality Health care. My opponent failed completely to provide his plan to protect people with preexisting conditions. He was asked repeatedly. He does not have a plan. He supports eliminating the aca and its protections for people with preexisting conditions. He wants to roll back the clock and send us back to a time where you as a covid19 survivor, cancer survivor like my mom, if youve got diabetes, asthma, Insurance Companies could deny you coverage only because you have a preexisting condition. I have a plan to lower the cost of health care, expand access to health care. My opponent wants to do the opposite and that is what this election is about. Usnk you again for joining today. We are just a couple of days away from the start of early voting next tuesday. I respectfully ask for your vote. You can watch both rallies on cspan2, online a cspan. Org or listen on our free cspan radio app. This evening Republican SenateMajority Leader Mitch Mcconnell and u. S. Senate democratic candidate take part in a televised debate. Live coverage starts at seven eastern on cspan or listen with the free cspan radio app. Former georgia