Republican Martha McSally, Democrat Ron Barber at AZPM debate Oct. 7, 2014.Congressional District Two is one of the most-watched races in the country because the outcome has hinged on a razor-thin margin of victory the past two election cycles.
Incumbent Democrat Ron Barber and Republican challenger Martha McSally are rematching their 2012 race.
In a recent forum at AZPM, the candidates debated party positions — and whether they have extreme or moderate stances — on border issues, including immigration and national security, economic issues, including job creation and tax rates and how to manage health care and Medicare.
McSally said cuts to Medicare, which Barber characterizes as cuts to overpayments to providers, are wrong, but she was not clear about her preferred alternative.
“I support initiatives that bring cost of health care down, so Medicare and health care is affordable to us and seniors, and I will do that when I get to Congress,” she said.
Barber said McSally supported cuts to Medicare benefits, not the overpayments to providers he supports.
"We have millions of dollars ... going out the door every day. We have to crack down on them," he said.
On immigration, McSally said the visa system needs reform.
Too many people who earn degrees in high-tech and science fields are not U.S. citizens, McSally said.
"We train them here at the UA and we send them back to compete against us in other countries," she said. "We need to have an immigration system and a visa system that welcomes those who want to work, that helps our economic growth on all ends of the spectrum related to skills and trade. We do that, we address some of the root causes of why we are in the situation that we are right now."
Barber said he supports the bipartisan Senate-passed immigration and border security reform bill, but that he would like to see some adjustments to border security measures in the bill. A version of security changes passed a House committee, Barber said.
"The problem is that the leadership of the party that hand-picked my opponent doesn't even want to bring it to the floor so it can be discussed," he said.
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