In Virginia’s Sixth Congressional District, two candidates vying for the federal seat squared off at their first debate Monday at Spotswood High School near Harrisonburg. Although the debate was civil, with both candidates politely pleaded their cases, there were a few jabs thrown, underlying a stark difference between the two political hopefuls.
GOP candidate Delegate Ben Cline (R-Rockbridge) and Democratic challenger Jennifer Lewis began by explaining their records and experience, hoping to win the constituency over to be tasked with the job of replacing retiring Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte (VA-6). with few barbs during their first debate.
Before beginning his 16-year career in the Virginia House of Delegates, Cline served as Goodlatte’s chief of staff. Afterwards, he owned his own small business providing marketing assistance to rural internet and high-tech companies, according to his campaign page. He also served as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Rockingham County and Harrisonburg until 2013, and now has a private law practice in Lexington.
Lewis, according to her campaign page, is a mental health worker, community advocate, and was recently re-elected as vice chair of the Waynesboro Democratic Committee. As well, she is he founder of “Friends of Augusta,” a local Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) opposition group.
As the debate kicked off, Cline noted that he has served as an elected official for eight consecutive terms in the state legislature, whereas Lewis has never held public office. He said his experience in the House of Delegates would help him fix a Congress that is “fundamentally broken.”
“It’s going to take the work of people who know how to get things done, know how to reach across the aisle and can start on day one with no training needed to get the job done,” he said, according to the Daily Progress.
Focusing on her work as a mental health professional and fighting against the construction of the ACP, Lewis said, “I believe that being part of the working class makes me more qualified to represent the 6th District, because we don’t need elitists who are out of touch trying to legislate us.”
When questioned about the the economy and what the candidates would do when they got to Washington, Lewis said that she supports increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour for “non-small businesses.” It is unclear what Lewis meant by non-small businesses. According to the Small Business Administration’s industry classification chart, there are numerous size standards for small businesses, size of the company in million of dollars and number of employees, all of which differ by industry and markets within the industry.
Lewis explained, “It’s disrespectful to hardworking people who cannot make enough money that they still have to go to the Department of Social Services and apply for Medicaid and apply for food stamps and apply for housing choice vouchers when they’re working hard.”
Forcing businesses to raise their wages hinders growth and would hurt the economy, Cline said – charging that the federal government should not be allowed to tell businesses how much to pay their employees because it may not fit the cost-of-living index in certain areas.
“It is disrespectful for government to insert itself and think it knows best about the relationship between an employer and employees,” he said.
The one thing both candidates did agree on was tariffs and the fact that they are hurting farmers and small business owners.
“I’m a free-trader,” Cline said.
“I don’t think that the tariffs…[are] the best way to a thriving economy. It’s through the elimination of tariffs,” he added.
With entitlement programs, both candidates do not support cutting Social Security funding, but Cline said the federal program must be reformed as life expectancy continues to increase.
Speaking to Medicaid and Medicare, Lewis said she supports the highly progressive “Medicare for All” plan. Cline called the proposal a “Bernie Sanders scheme” that “puts government between you and your doctor,” according to the report.
Cline was in the headlines this year during the General Assembly session for his introduction of a bill to ban sanctuary cities from being established in the Commonwealth, which was voted by Governor Ralph Northam. During the debate, Cline said that the U.S. immigration system is not working. For reforming the system, he said that President Donald Trump’s proposal for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is a “critical component.” Additionally, the Rockbridge delegate explained that he advocates for a merit-based system.
Lewis said she finds it “personally offensive” that discussions of immigration only focus on the southern U.S. border. She supports both the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation and the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.
Moreover, Cline said that the U.S. must be made safe from “‘those who would come to do harm’ through gangs, drugs and child sex trafficking.”
The rural-area debate also covered guns and the notion of keeping school children safe after several mass shootings have occurred this year.
Lewis, a mental health worker and advocate, said she will work for improved mental health services in schools so that counselors are not overworked with cases or administrative tasks.
On the topic of gun control, Lewis said she supports banning the sale of bump stocks and semi-automatic rifles, implementing universal background checks and closing the so-called “gun show loophole.” She explained that she did not want to infringe on anyone’s “right to go hunting.”
“However,” she said, “you do not need an AR-15 to go hunting.”
Cline, who carries an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA), said to the crowd, “One of those areas that I do not believe would help the situation is the restriction of your constitutional right to defend yourself and your family.
Currently, the delegate supports the recommendations from the House of Delegates’ Select Committee on School Safety. The committee convened in Richmond recently to consider over 50 recommendations from both sides of the political aisle, which included emphasizing student wellness, hiring additional teacher’s aides or staffers to free up time for guidance counselors to focus more on students, utilizing additional school resource officers (SROs), as well as technology-based applications to bolster school security.
On the environment, particularly on the ACP, Lewis said she disapproved of “disastrous pipelines,” including Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).
“The future is not more fossil fuel,” Lewis said, who also advocates that the entire U.S. can be run completely on renewable energy by 2050, which reportedly drew a smirk from Cline.
Cline said that pipelines must be studied, as he is concerned about how they might affect water quality. Though, he has called for the U.S. to achieve “energy independence” from “dictators, merchants of death, supporters of terrorists,” and said eliminating fossil fuels would put the country in the “dark ages.”
The Interstate 81 corridor infrastructure only received one quick mention. Cline said, “who’s going to get it fixed? I will, starting on day one.”