This debate is happening live but as usual things will look a little different these days. Our panelists are in studio, wmur anchor Jennifer Vaughn and political reporter john distaso will ask most of the questions today. The candidates are in a different city are separated by several feet as part of our covid19 precautions. We look forward to a robust debate. Lets look at the candidates background. And incumbent governor planning and management face life or death tests this year. Sununu good results are a result of the tough decisions we had to make. The Youngest Senate majority leader in New Hampshire history known for pushing for progressive reforms. Fighting for working people and working families every step of the way. This years candidates for governor offered two different approaches for protecting and empowering granite stators. Republican governor chris sununu has spearheaded much of the states response to covid19 and moved forward on a number of major issues, Police Reform using executive order to implement the first round of changes. Sununu we are not at a crisis point but i dont wait for the crisis. New hampshire does democracy better than any other state. Reporter dan feltes is a progressive who worked on, Justice Reform indicating healthcare coverage. When it comes to dealing with chloroquine for he says he will not lose focus on solutions that help workingclass families. We evaluated all legally qualified candidates and selected those considered most newsworthy to participate in this debate. Candidates will get one minute to answer questions, 30second rebuttals will be allowed at moderators description. We think candidates for joining us in the opening question is about the covid19 pandemic. It does first to you, were 7 months into this pandemic. Thanksgiving is 5 months away. Is it safe to say the connection is more important to people than it has ever been. The realities we are seeing cases of covid19 every day and rising numbers across the country. How do you lead the way through the end of this year as they want to be together with loved ones but fear that could put them and others at risk . Hundred lost loved ones, tens of thousands lost their jobs, thousand their homes, kids growing up in schools that are shutting down, obamacare, Healthcare System we rely on is in jeopardy. Working families dont know what is next in the next week alone the next day. Especially workingclass families and thats where i come from. The odds of me being on stage here tonight are slim. It is an honor to be here and i didnt come from a family of politicians unlike the current governor. My dad works in a furniture factory for 45 years doing the same job day in and day out for 45 years. My mom on the night shift raising four kids and i worked for workingclass family serving as a legal aid attorney with New Hampshire legal assistant serving in the state senate delivering results for working families. Thats what i will do as the governor of New Hampshire. Moderator thing questions you. Sununu thanksgiving is coming up, a time for families, timer gatherings. It has been a trying time. The past 6 or 7 months have been amazing in New Hampshire. It has its challenges, the people of the state have done a phenomenal job wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, making those sacrifices, why we have the lowest covid19 numbers in the country. We knew the numbers would be rising, we see that across the country, not rising as fast as the rest of the country but we know those spikes could come that we ask folks to stay vigilant, stay smart about what they do. Because your with obama and and mary doesnt mean the virus cares. And his family settings be safe, be smart, maintain those distances, where your masks. Folks in your immediate family, if we do that, keep up that vigilance no reason we cant be successful for the winter. Moderator our first panel question from john distaso. New hampshire went from a dozen or 2 dozen covid19 cases over the summer to now 70100 cases a day in the last week. You said we should expect children to go back to school, spend less time outside, cases would rise but now what should happen . Should the state return to the restrictions it had . Free fewer people at restaurants, stores, state departments like dmv scaling back, private Gatherings Limited to ten or fewer, time to reverse the opening of the state . When we first entered the pandemic in march there was no playbook, we had very little resources, didnt have the capabilities which puts us at a more advantageous position today. We wrote the playbook and did a great job as a team working with the division of Public Health businesses to reopen in a smart and safe way and have a successful summer weve had and we have always known the numbers would go a universities are coming back, schools coming back, it is getting colder, we are staying a little more inside but doesnt mean we have to go back where we were in march. We are far away from where we were, what we are trying to do is manage the overburden on healthcare. Weve done a great job and no reason we cant keep up our success. Moderator senator, same question please. Feltes the most important thing is our Healthcare System without a doubt and for years as a legal aid lawyer i battled Health Insurance industry to get access to healthcare for working families, delivering results, Prescription Drug relief, medicaid expansion, working to expand healthcare access. Thats what we have to be focused on, taking it to the Health Insurance industry, over 100, 000 in corporate contribution, donald trump support the repeal of obamacare, chris sununu has worked to restrict safe and legal abortion and just like donald trump will have you believe everything is fine. Donald trump gives himself the a plus, chris sununu gives himself the gold standard. Everything isnt fine. We have to lift people up, working families and working people and fight to stabilize and strengthen our Healthcare System. Obviously everything isnt fine. We are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and folks in the state have done an incredible job. My opponent likes to invoke my name and the idea we are against healthcare. Im one of the few republican governors fighting to keep the Affordable Care act. New hampshire is on the lawsuit fighting to keep the Affordable Care act, to throw the system out wouldnt make sense so it is happening today. Dan likes to make an easy political statement that sounds nice but facts are facts. Feltes these are your own words. In 2016 when he ran for governor the first time you ran on a platform of repealing obamacare. When asked why i support donald from you say i support donald trump as he would finally actually end the horrible programs like obamacare. On the executive council you voted in 2012 to turn down the obamacare healthcare exchange. In 2013 you cheer that efforts to repeal obamacare without replacement. Fortunately senator hatch and senator shaheen and john mccain turned that down even though you called it a huge win and you cant rewrite history. Sununu in the us Supreme Court, why the state of New Hampshire, how are they feltes an Election Year filing if you want but the reality is you support the process moving forward on judge barrett. A long history of opposing obamacare, you support trump and the justices that will overrule obamacare and have a long history in opposition to obamacare. It is documented. I dont understand how you can stand here and say otherwise. And strengthen it for workingclass folks and if obamacare is repealed it will fall to the states, and you have a governor that fights for healthcare, i have fought for healthcare every step of the way and will do the same as governor. Moderator next question from Jennifer Vaughn. Lets move to masks. One of the communities that passed a mask mandate, in spite of that the city has seen a sharp rise in covid19 cases in early october. Dan feltes pushed for statewide mandate. If it hasnt worked there, why push for one throughout the state . Feltes we need to listen to the medical experts. The medical experts have recommended masks. Common sense public mask requirement just makes good sense. We early and stayed in doing and without it. Donald trump and chris sununu have not listened to medical experts on masks and donald trump, lets be very clear, has been a complete failure on covid19 and worked to be the divider in chief of our country and folks including the governor, the top enabler of donald trump. He calls himself in his own words a trump guy through and through. Those are not my words. Those are Chris Sununus words which i cast my vote if you weeks ago for joe biden to be president. Comes from a workingclass family, hasnt begun has a plan. I was proud to do so. Chris sununu supports donald trump. The question is when you cast your ballot for donald trump are you going to be proud to do that . Next question from Jennifer Vaughn. Mask mandates theoretically will take the politics out of it. If the rule is to where one, dont have to make a judgment about wearing one. With this issue being so politicized do you think it has been an error not to institute a mask mandate . Theres nothing political about wearing a mask. Communities that want to institute a mask mandate, we are supportive of that. The numbers are different in the southern tier. 60 of cities and towns dont have any chris sununu the absolute brightness of Leonard Pelkey whatsoever. To understand the economics are different, how it spreads is different. We are supportive of those communities that have been strongly impacted and wants to implement a mask mandate, to say everything is going to be better is not necessarily is numbers start to rise and we want to institute a mass mandate that is possible but not necessary. Masks are not the only thing, they are just one piece of the puzzle. It is maintaining social distancing, washing hands, keeping distances, staying remote, those are the solutions for the longterm. Next question from john distaso. The vast majority of pandemic deaths occurred in longterm care facilities. Is it fair to say you and the Public Health team should move more quickly to deal with that, why does that play significant lockdowns, does continue to come at those longterm care facilities . Lets look at the real data, one is too many and through this entire pandemic whether longterm care facility, one fatality is too many. Compared to the beds we have, the lowest numbers on the east coast, the lowest in new england, we have 20, 20 plus outbreaks down to a handful of outbreaks, we have very few fatalities in the General Community so the ratio of fatalities in longterm care was much higher because it resulted in a fatal rate, the commission has done a phenomenal job, running longterm care facilities, shes an operator, her and the department of Public Health did a great job identifying the issue, one of the most aggressive states with test testing and providing ppe and that is why the numbers have dropped so precipitously. Moderator you say the governor reacted too slowly but as cases of covid19 were building in New Hampshire as the Senate Majority leader you pushed to convene the legislature for too two long days. Why the senate needs to be in session, much else was closing, you said, quote, i think the executive branch and the legislature have taken a different perspective so far but we are going to monitor the situation. How your words and actions then square with your criticism now . Sununu we suspended activities on Nursing Homes. Lets be clear, we are judged by how we treat the most vulnerable, children, folks in Nursing Homes, longterm care facilities, to government and a half to get a contract to do testing and some of the facilities, some of the workers, chris sununu went to a Corporate Campaign donor and we have to move forward, we have is ranked by the New York Times the worst covid19 situation in longterm care and we have the decision to support longterm care with ppe, testing and Financial Support into doing independent audit what happened in longterm care. Bipartisan legislation to do an independent audit and now we have outbreaks across New Hampshire in Nursing Homes and lastly the most important thing is protecting and strengthening obamacare, we have worse condition. Dan feltes brought a bill after the pandemic started. And the fatality on the east coast, in longterm care facility is, where they were going through, looking at airflow and how dynamics, 20 outbreaks became two very quickly. Feltes we have more outbreaks because we did not have the analysis what to do moving forward. If that bill had been signed our Nursing Homes would have been stood up. Now we have Healthcare Facilities that are in the red and in fact Lakes Region General Hospital filed bankruptcy in the cares actually fund the governor took unilateral control over could have stabilized the Health Care System and didnt, could have stabilized Nursing Homes in assisted living facilities, didnt, gave out a bunch of money to corporations as i want to ask everybody, 1. 25 billion, how much did you and your family get . I that you didnt get any. Sununu we are the only state in the country that put out half that money to businesses, employees, the self employed, nonprofits, we put more out on relief efforts more than florida, new york, california. It was an amazing opportunity we put before those individuals and when it came to the legislatures attempt at that they sued me, tried to slow it up in court, with government bureaucracy. I was cutting deals for ppe, testing on a moments notice in those early days and we did a phenomenal job, one of the best states in the country bringing in ppe because we had flexibility with the cares act money, we can go to the website and see where every dollar has gone. And press conferences taking messages on wmur on the spur of the moment, trying to be open, one thing to say we are in it together and we knew we would be transparent through this process. We moved very quickly and we were not going to get bureaucracy hold up the opportunity in the middle of the pandemic. This hasnt been transparent, the independent audit and review, and given the contract of Corporate Campaign donors and cares act relief money, 200 corporations got 350, 000 in cares act money, Small Businesses got very little and if you are sitting at home you didnt get any. Only Small Businesses got those dollars. Only Small Businesses. Was 20 millionayear in annual revenue. That is a fraction of how the federal government defines it and hundreds of thousands of dollars saved jobs and businesses. We have less business closures this year than last year because they could pay property taxes, they could pay their employees instead of their businesses through the toughest of times. Our economy is stronger in new york than anywhere else on the east coast. One half of New Hampshires children work in these households. And in the labor market in New Hampshire, 735 thousands, they are detached from the labor market. We are going to stand and pat ourselves on the back and move forward to gather. Strengthen and protect obamacare, 15 seconds. 10 million go to childcare. I put 25 million in the beginning and another ten last week. We put in more dollars to job care, and better results. The next question to jennifer von. Repulsive the public and you high marks for handling the crisis but there are parents who wish you are giving clear guidelines and taken specific action. To create that guidance and the normal and request was lets make sure we have some flexibility. What happens in the third grade classroom is different than whats happening at Manchester Central high school. By providing flexibility, 85 of our schools are open in some fashion. We have no outbreaks. You success. Under his original plan if hospitalizations just whatever said we went from ten to 11, at a hospital would have to close. Under his plan every school today would be closed. Thats not leadership. The governor should be sitting in his Corner Office putting is found on making onesizefitsall dictation for every classroom in the state. Our plan work and were very proud of it. Center, you spearheaded efforts to reject 46 in federal aid for public Charter Schools here in New Hampshire. With that money have helped right now as the Education System tries to adapt in this pandemic . The biggest thing facing her schools without question is an lack of reopening Public Health standards. Five or six weeks to go before schools would reopen the people are expecting governors as ken lay ports of Public Health standards. He threw up his hands, putting a dent to the l