The only Connecticut Senate debate of the election season focused on major national political issues.
Ethan Wallin October 31, 2024 12:15am
staff reporter
Ethan Wallin, Contributing Photographer
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy and Republican challenger Matthew Cawley differed on economic policy, border security measures and former President Donald Trump Wednesday night in their only debate of the election season.
The two candidates faced off for 45 minutes at the WTNH television studios in downtown New Haven, with less than a week until Election Day and 10 days of early voting already completed in Connecticut. Mr. Murphy defeated Mr. Cawley by more than 20 percentage points in 2018 and is currently running for a third term in the Senate.
While Murphy praised the state of the economy under the Democratic administration, he acknowledged concerns about the cost of living.
“I think people are hurting in this country, and the economy is much better. If you want a job, you can get it. Factories are being built. Crime is down. But people feel powerless in this country,” Murphy said, adding that big corporations and billionaires wield too much power. Murphy echoed Vice President Kamala Harris’ call for a crackdown on “price gougers.”
Cawley, a businessman and Navy veteran, has pushed for corporate and income tax cuts and pitched himself as a business-friendly candidate to replace the two-term incumbent.
“Are you better off today than you were when you were four years old, or in Senator Murphy’s case, six years ago?” Corey said. Asked how he plans to break with Trump, Corey, who attended Trump’s Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden, said: That means I have a better personality than him. ”
On immigration, Murphy spoke about his role in negotiating a bipartisan border bill that was defeated in Congress after President Trump voiced opposition. Cawley said the government should step up deportations, starting with illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.
Murphy warned about Republican abortion policy, saying the party would pass a national abortion ban, while supporting Roe v. Wade’s national protections to restore abortion rights.
Cawley said Murphy was trying to use abortion as a “scare tactic” in his campaign and that each state should decide its own approach to abortion. She then changed the subject and voiced her opposition to transgender students’ participation in women’s sports, adding that she supports withholding federal funding from schools that allow such participation.
“When will men in this country stand up for women?” Corey said.
Murphy said school districts should make decisions about transgender athletes on a case-by-case basis and that Republican allies against them are contributing to the disproportionate mental health struggles of transgender children. Ta.
The senator voiced support for federal legislation that would restrict social media use by teenagers and called the platforms’ algorithms “toxic.” Coley said parents should supervise their children’s technology use without government intervention.
Murphy also attacked Trump’s baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and his labeling of some Democrats as “enemies from within.” After the debate, Murphy told reporters that Democrats should use the final days of campaigning to highlight the threat Trump poses to American democracy.
“If Donald Trump wins and uses the power of the presidency to punish his political opponents, I don’t know if other issues matter because he can’t fight them in public,” Murphy says. Said.
Despite their disagreements, Cawley and Murphy gave almost identical answers to certain questions during the so-called lightning round at the end of the debate. One of the two hosts began by asking Corey if he had used marijuana since recreational marijuana became legal in Connecticut in 2021.
“Not a big fan, no,” Corey said. Murphy responded, “It’s similar, but I’m not a big fan.”
Murphy is 51 years old. Corey is 60 years old.
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Ethan Wallin
Ethan Wallin covers city hall and local politics. He is a sophomore at Silliman University from Washington, DC.
