i think we cannot afford not to do it. i support investments in school construction. we will not raise taxes or jeopardize our bond rating. we have the ability to make investments with our bond ating. i look forward to working with baltimore county, montgomery, prince george's, and every executive that once to deliver modern classrooms. mr. hogan calls for a $450 million cut to school onstruction. that would cut us -- set us back years. we want to move children from trailers to technology ready lassrooms. your cut would take students ack to a place they do not

want to go. >> i support pre-k. he runs commercials saying i do not and i'm going to take $309 out of the pockets of kids -- $300 million of the pockets of kids. hat is not true. with the lieutenant governor is talking about is expanding it to pay for everybody in the state. he doesn't have a plan for how to a compass that and is not talking about how to pay for t. basically, it is a campaign promise. he is trying to mislead voters into making it happen. we support the concept and idea of pre-k. the fact of the matter is, politicians make phony promises all the time. i'm a small businessman. i don't want to over thomas and not dilip -- overpromise and in not deliver. i said, i don't know how we will afford it at this

point. now you are proposing $7 billion in new spending. >> moving on. next question. the maryland comptroller lasted the economy and talked about hortfall in revenue. people asked, if elected, how would you address the fiscal challenges facing the skate? -- state? >> i can assure you that while i agree with a lot of the things the comptroller says, i don't agree with him when he says we will raise taxes. we will not raise taxes in a rown administration. the chamber of commerce recognizes our entrepreneurial business community as number one in the country. we will make sure that with targeted tax credits and

deductions, we can support small businesses that create two out of every three jobs in maryland. middle-class jobs. opportunities for working families. the other thing we are going to do is make sure, in order to offer those tax credits and release -- reliefs, we will ook at spending. mr. hogan and i agree we need to look at spending and government. we disagree on how to do that. my plan calls for strategic resourcing. purchase agreements with counties so we can get more value at a lower cost. continuing to make strides in efficiency and reducing expenditures in medicaid. a new employee health plan that will save us millions of dollars. my savings plan is considerably

different and mr. hogan's -- than mr. hogan's which not only cuts school construction but calls for an increase in the property tax base. > mr. hogan? >> almost everything the lieutenant governor said was not true. he says he does not want to look at the past. he doesn't want to talk about his eight-year record of failure. it is a field record of lost businesses, jobs, higher spending, and record tax increases. you increased spending $10 billion, higher than 46 other states. the last time you said, there is not going to be any taxes, was the last election when you and martin o'malley said the same thing and then raised 40 taxes in a row that crushed families and small usinesses.

it is not about what somebody says, it is about what they have done. we have to look at his ecord. you can say you are going to cut spending when you have increased it by more than almost anybody in the country. you have proposed in his campaigns's been like $7 billion in new spending -- campaign something like $7 billion in new spending. it is going to cost the average maryland family $9,000 more per ear. thanks to you and martin 'malley raising taxes. i am running because i want to get the government off our backs and out of our

pockets. so we can grow the private sector, put people back to work, and turn the economy around. >> thank you. rebuttal? >> let's talk about record. over the course of the last eight years, we brought 40,000 obs to maryland. i spearheaded the effort to create eighth -- a framework for public private partnerships. like the investment in the port of baltimore that created 5000 obs. amazon fulfillment center, bmw, which announced an increase for him of cars to the -- increased volume of cars to the port. the only plan is your so-called savings plan which is riddled with incompetents.

it includes a $450 million cut to school construction. you are talking about in your so-called plan increasing property taxes by $309. -- $300 million. >> thank you, mr. brown. >> a rounding error? >> a rounding error is when you ay you cut $8 billion. >> maryland is under an epa mandated day it -- diet to clean up the chesapeake bay. what would you be your pproach? >> the chesapeake bay is our most valued asset. it's a treasure for maryland and the entire country. cleaning up the bases going to

be a priority of the hogan administration -- the bay is going to be the priority the hogan administration. rather than blaming farmers and rain, we will take other ction. 43% of the sediment comes down the river. that is the number one issue. we will push back to the federal government, epa and army corps of engineers, we will push back to make sure that pennsylvania and new york pay their fair share. that is one of the major problems we have had cleaning p the bay. the most important problem is the brown in this duration -- the o'malley in menstruation. they have a rated -- administration. they have a rated funds -- raided funds. chesapeake they trust. -- they took money out of the chesapeake bay trust. we will not raid the trust und.

we will focus on the real problems in the bay. that is what we will do. the rain tax is universally hated by people in the state. that is the only solution they have come up with. the rain that falls in your house, i have been going from one end of the state to the other are disgusted with that. we have to do more. >> mr. brown? >> there you go again, painting a distorted picture. maryland and the entire country came through a great recession. no program except education -- every program saw reductions in xpenditures. including programs that protect the environment.

we stand in different places. i stand in the tradition of marylanders who for centuries understand we have to take a balanced approach. you stand somewhere upstream, pointing your finger at pennsylvania and in new york, accusing them of what you are unwilling to do in maryland. we need a robust facility -- storm water management program. we need to work with farmers to reduce runoff. we have done a great job of hat. the maneuver transport program. pesticide management. we need to work with local governments. work with developers to reduce the number of septic's. continue the progress we are working -- making with waste water treatment.

a vibrant chesapeake bay and environment accounts for hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of jobs in maryland. you cannot be pro-business and a not be proenvironment. whether it is the maritime operations in baltimore -- it relies on a clean may. ---- bay. we can't look to new york and pennsylvania to do what you are not willing to do. >> sounded good but it was nonsense. i believe in a balanced approach. i'm not talking about pushing everything off. you rob the one point $3 billion out of the environmental trust fund that we could have done good work ith. you blamed it on the national recession and said, we are recovering better. you cut in every department. you increased spending by $10 billion. more than 46 other states.

when you go from a $29 billion budget to a $9 billion budget, it is not even a cut. -- to a $39 billion budget, it s not a cut. you are talking about a balanced approach to business and the environment. we have lost 200,000 jobs. ou can't make things up. talk about the past eight years as it they did not happen. most dates are recovering. we are not. >> thank you, mr. hogan. maryland voters are concerned about the tone of the gubernatorial race. it has been called the most negative governors race in the country. diane and cumberland asks, -- diane in cumberland asks, why did it come to this? >> i believe campaigns are conversations with voters. about marilyn's future.

- maryland's future. i believe voters have to know where candidates stand on ssues. that is why we have made a point in the brown administration to highlight his ecord on important issues. from cumberland to ocean city, they ask, where are you on public safety? the firearms safety protection act? mr. hogan is not talking about it. we share with them his record. we have adverb night since -- we have advertisements. senate bill 281 band assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

esther hogan opposed it. -- mr. hogan of post-it. -- o apposed it. mr. hogan opposed it. he opposed commonsense public safety measures for aryland. he will tell you that we should rely on a federal database. why should we rely on the public -- federal database when we can do it here? i supported the firearms safety act of 2413. -- 2013. i will and force it and and not try to roll it back. >> the question was about why the campaign is so negative. we have one of the most negative campaigns in the country. i would agree. it is not coming from our side. the commercials we have run ave been positive.

my opponent, the lieutenant governor, who is unwilling to talk about the economic problems of maryland and defend his record of failure, has chosen to try to distract voters away from those issues and talk about things that are not on the minds of voters in aryland. he is twisting and putting out ommercials that are false. we held a press conference and went through every single commercial. he has a new commercial with assault weapons in school yards y the swing set. it says, i oppose background checks and i want to put assault weapons in the hands of the mentally ill. i can assure you that is 100% false. i am the only republican that ran in this race in the primaries who said i would not repeal sb 281. we are not ruling anything back. i was concerned it did not go far enough to keep guns out of

the hands of the mentally ill. maryland is the worst state in the country for reporting mentally ill mess, which is a huge problem when we talk about these issues. i did not think the bill addressed it which is why i opposed it. i'm a small businessman. i never voted for anything. i was just talking about my opinion. your commercials are 100% isleading. >> opinions matter for a governor. voters want to know what your opinion is. you say you will not roll back the firearms safety act. but you spoke to a group of extreme gun owners and said, don't worry. give me a pass in public. when i am governor, i will use an executive order to roll back provisions of the act.

i will point some of the that interprets the law to put guns ack in the street. that was in an exposé by the washington post, not just me making this up. you are taking positions -- you have been a political operative for 30 years -- you have taken positions to overturn roe versus wade. now you have, in a campaign year conversion, you say that you take a different position. how can the voters trust you? oters ought to know. they are to know your opinions and beliefs. >> thank you, mr. brown. >> moving on to immigration, governor o'malley has taken steps to welcome unaccompanied inors across the border. try to marshall assistance once they are here to read what would be your policy to these immigrants and others?

>> i will go back and take the privilege of responding to some of the attacks that just came from the lieutenant governor. he says i have a 30 year record. i spent most of my life in the private sector. i left my business to serve as a cabinet secretary for four years. he says i oppose abortion, even in the case of rape and interest. i want to take away birth control. that is absolutely not true. not my position now, and has never been my position. you are taking inaccurate article -- in any accurate -- an inaccurate article from 30 years ago that was referring to my father. that is another one of the false ads. i think you should apologize to the women for trying to scare them. let's go back to immigration.

we are a nation of immigrants. my wife, she is a first generation american. she immigrated from south korea. my family came from ireland, all four of my grandparents. we are a beacon of hope and freedom. i understand why we want to be welcoming to immigrants. however, we are a nation of the law. we have to figure out -- i don't blame people who want to come here and break the rules -- i understand they want a better life for themselves and their children. i blame the president of the u.s. and congress, both democrats and republicans, for coming up with a competent of immigration policy or strategy -- for coming up with a comp to immigration policy or strategy. -- comprehensive immigration policy or strategy. >> ima first generation american. my father came from jamaica.

this is a land of mmigrants. some families arrived six decades ago. some six weeks ago. some centuries ago. each of us should be afforded the opportunity to be making a contribution to the nation. there is a failure to enact legislation in congress. that is the source of the problem. many republican colleagues in congress of mr. hogan refuse to pass reform. we will not fix that in maryland. the question is, what does the governor do? when we see children stranded at the border, that is exhibit of a failed policy. i have laid out a framework for managing that.

i think as people, and a nation, we have an obligation to protect children. we don't leave children stranded so we will protect them. we will reunite them with their amilies. we will return them to their country of origin. temporarily, with new cannot do that, we will have them in our foster and social services system. provided the federal government reimburses maryland. we can accommodate a small group of children. let's protect them and return them. insure the federal government pays the freight. >> for the most part, we agree. it is a humanitarian risis. a tremendous problem for the nation to have undocumented children crossing the border. my first concern is their health and safety. we do have to look at that. i wanted to make sure, as soon as they came a cross, we took care of their needs.

any medical attention. it didn't make sense for maryland to try to bring more of them to maryland. we have taken 10 times more per capita than it any other state. it is not fair to the taxpayers or the children to be bust thousands of -- bussed thousands of miles from their ort of origin. we do want to take care of the kids. i think the administration has been too aggressive going after this. >> that was rebuttal? k. people watching us right now have a genuine concern about their safety. even though there were statistics that showed a decrease in crime. what is your plan to address what appears to be a continuing crime problem in the state? >> i understand that no family is immune from the tragedy of crime.

ven violent crime. my cousin kathy was killed by her estranged boyfriend. because of that, i supported the firearms safety act of 013. i also led the effort to give judges authority to surrender irearms. because of those measures and others, or perhaps more important he because of the courage of men and women in law enforcement, we have driven crime down to levels we have not seen in fort decades -- our decades. our work will not be finished until everybody can walk out and feel safe. we have work to do. we cannot roll back the provisions of the firearms safety act, which i intend to fully enforce.

we are seeing a reduction in gun related crimes in the state as a result of that. i have a proposal to drive down -- some states are doing better than us. we will make sure our reentry population does not commit crimes. make sure they can be productive and rejoin their families. there are a number of things we can do, a number of proposals i ave offered. i will use every tool available, including gun safety laws, to make sure you are living in a safer eighborhood. >> your response, mr. hogan? >> we have some of the toughest gun safety laws in the entire country. that has not stopped us from being one of the most violent states in the nation. we are in the top 10 for violent crime, murder, and rimes with guns.

we have a lot more progress to do. crime is a serious problem in maryland. i have been traveling across the state and talking with people in urban areas, rural and suburban areas, and met ith law enforcement. the number one problem we have is harrowing. we have -- heroin. we have recently been called he heroin capital. this has infiltrated into small communities. 60% of people in frederick county are gang and a drug-related with heorin. 60% of the problems they are dealing with ours result of heroin. i was in a county on the eastern shore. they said the number one problem was heroin. we have the number one problem n the u.s.

every state on the east coast has declared a state of emergency. arid menstruation has done nothing. -- our administration has done nothing. we will look at this problem of violent crime, drugs, and gangs. >> rebuttal? >> it is disappointing when you say you don't know how much progress we have made. it is incumbent on you and i to inform yourselves. the facts are, we have driven crime down to the lowest levels in four decades. we have driven down crime against women and children. why are we doing it? aniston we are making progress. we are taking guns off the streets. we are putting more into drug treatment and addiction.

in the institutions and communities. we have skills training and partnerships with onprofits. that is why recidivism has gone from 50% to 40%. you have to understand that as a governor. the most important responsibility is to ensure public safety. we have driven recidivism down. we have more work to do. we have driven crime down. we have more to do. >> marilyn's congressional districts have been ranked the most gerrymandered in the nation. would you commit to changing the way the district's are drawn if governor? >> absolutely i would. my campaign has been about nonpartisanship. three point five years ago, i started a group called change maryland, the largest nonpartisan citizen's group.

half of the people involved are democrats and independents. my life has been about coming up with common sense bipartisan solutions. the redistricting was probably be worst in the country. it is not something that should ever happen again. i would take these decisions out of the hands of the monopoly and politicians in an annapolis put -- in annapolis. put it into the hands of an independent audie threet -- independent body. >> thank you. >> i support an independent ommission. i have said this over the course of the campaign. it is the right thing to do for a number of reasons. it gives greater confidence to maryland voters.

it also, i believe, address of that the function -- addresses the dysfunction in the nation's capital. we have members of congress who represent extreme right and left districts. that is why you don't have immigration reform were -- or n energy policy. i will create an independent congressional -- commission. it will not be in the immediate future, but around the time of he census. i also support what supreme court justices are calling for, an amendment to the constitution. we can recent -- fix it in aryland. we still need to address the larger national problem. so that in washington, where the redistricting has resulted in dysfunction, we can get back o the business of doing work

in washington which is not happening today. >> the lieutenant governor does not want to claim responsibility. he agrees we ought to do some thing about the terrible redistricting. it took place during his and -- administration. i talked to people every single day who are fed up with professional politicians. they feel as if we are not solving the problem. that is why i have been focused on nonpartisanship -- bipartisanship. and the monopoly in annapolis. o checks and balances. that is one of the reasons i am running for governor. >> you have talked about this.

let's get a little deeper into it. what are your plans to improve the business climate so more businesses do not leave maryland and take jobs with them? >> i think mr. hogan and i agree that we need to strengthen the business climate. there are aspects of the business climate that are strong. a quality workforce second to none. we are making investments in infrastructure. there are areas where we need dramatic improvements, like the reg latorre environment. -- regulatory environment. we can do that without running away from obligations to protect the environment and consumers. we have stated and declared that in a brown in ministry should -- adminisration, our first goal will be to position the business climate to be number one in the nation. here is debate whether the

climate is hostile to usinesses. our focus is on whether you believe we are hostile or not. so that bmw can expand its footprint. so more amazons will come to maryland. lockheed martin has announced an expansion. volvo, in washington county. frito-lay. corporations that see a tremendous amount of strength in our business climate and are expanding and investing. but we can all agree that mean do -- we need to strengthen the climate. >> my question is, why have you not strengthened the climate? it is your policy and

regulatory environment. that trove 8000 businesses out of the state. -- that drove 8000 businesses ut of the state. how is it going to change over the next four years from what you did over the past eight years? you are going to create all these jobs. why did we almost lead the nation in job losses? why have we lost 2000 jobs 20,000 jobs? --why have we lost 200,000 jobs? this is the main reason i got nto this race. we have been focused on how to make maryland more competitive. we held a business summit on improving the competitiveness. we brought business leaders and economists and think stakes -- tanks and talked about his.

according to ceo magazine, we are 41st out of 50 states for business. that will change with me on day one. maryland will be open for business. will focus on how to help his mrs. grow -- businesses row. the regulatory environment you say you want to clean up is the one you created. it has driven a lot of businesses out of the state. i have talked about people who said they moved to virginia and got things done in 90 days that they could not have done in maryland in three years. it is the onerous tax policy >> thank you. >> an entire minute and a half. you didn't have a single proposal to improve the climate. we agree we can strengthen the climate by providing tax elief.

we disagree on how. you would start with the largest corporations, the wealthy. many with headquarters outside of the state. and give them a $300 million tax giveaway. ou said it in september. in fact, you said in the spring you would try to try to eliminate the corporate income tax. that would put a gaping hole in the next governor's budget. i support tax relief for small businesses that create two out of every three middle-class jobs. that is how we are going to create a stronger business climate in maryland. >> each of you has served in an administration from each party? can you tell me a policy from the ehrlich in this ration that you disagreed -- administration that you disagree with? >> that is a tough question. i had the honor of serving for

our years as a cabinet secretary. i agree with a lot of the things they did. one thing i didn't agree with, tuitions went up 40%. i was never supportive of it. i have never supported tuition increases in my life. i have been the voice of opposition to the five years that the lieutenant governor and governor raised tuition. that would be the number one issue. as farce up in the have done well, they have done a good job of spinning the numbers and confusing people. that is the only thing i can oint to. >> let me explain a relationship that he governor has with the lieutenant governor.

i was asked, are you prepared to be lieutenant governor? the best experience was when i was an executive officer in the ilitary. i had the privilege of going into closed doors with the company commander. at the end of the day, the company commander made a decision. we both walked out the door. i supported the cover the commander's decision -- the company commander's decision. that is a lot how a lieutenant governor works. there are a few things where i disagreed with the tenant a molly -- lieutenant -- with governor o'malley. one thing -- i was very pleased the legislature took that out of the proposal. we were able to balance the budget and meet the needs of marylanders.

i was not coming out of the door and throwing my governor under the bus. i hope whoever the next lieutenant governor understands that important elationship. what do i agree with from the ehrlich administration? you raised tuition and you said, -- never said anything, but i instead because you are being loyal. >> unfortunately, because of time, we will move on to the next question. there has been a lot of time -- talk about women's issues. what is your priority? >> thank you, kimberly. my priority is to make sure when we build a better maryland, it is for all marylanders.

the poverty rate for women is the lowest in the nation. we have a higher percentage of women who sit on boards in senior positions. we have made strides reducing the gender wage gap. but we have a lot to do. that's why supported raising the minimum wage. why? the average minimum wage earner is a 33-year-old single woman. she was making minimum wage, less than the federal poverty level, and is unable to provide for her family. i support giving her and for 35,000 others -- and 455,000 others a raise. i have led the effort to reduce the mystic violence in maryland. support services for -- -- reduce domestic violence in maryland. support services for victims.

we were able to finally have maryland and join the ranks of other states, reducing the standard of proof for a woman to get a protective order and need a mistake violence -- in a domestic violence case. that is tremendous rogress. whether we are talking about economic issues, educational issues, health, i will be on the side of women. >> first of all, i agree of what the lieutenant governor. he has done a good job with domestic violence initiatives. we talked about that when we kicked off the mystic violence -- domestic violence week. women in maryland are faced with -- the most households in

maryland are headed by women. they make financial decisions. they are suffering as the result of tax hikes. most are regressive taxes that hurt people at the lower end of the scale. number one women's issue is getting the economy back on track. putting women back to work so they can support their families. with regard to the minimum wage, i said we are not going to do anything to change it. it will help people at the lower end. but there are drawbacks. we may lose jobs as a result. the average minimum wage earner is a 33-year-old single mom. it should not be that way. it was designed for kids to get their first opportunity to join the workforce.

if we can restore the workforce in bring back better paying jobs, we wouldn't have to deal with this. i support access to birth control for every single woman in maryland, contrary to the commercials my opponent has been running. we support over the control paid for by insurance. we will do nothing to roll back reproductive rights. >> we have reached the point will are -- where we can begin he closing statements. >> this election is not really just root typical fight between democrats and republicans -- not really just your typical fight between democrats and republicans. the decision we make will have a lasting impact on the future of our state. it is an important decision. i believe the voters need to make a simple choice.

it comes down to this. if you are comfortable with the status quo, the direction our state is heading, and you believe a third term of their policies would be good for you coming you should vote for my pponent. but if you believe things are in the wrong track and the new leadership is needed, it doesn't matter what state -- part of the state you live in order what your party affiliation is, you need to vote to bring change. i'm asking for your vote on ovember 4. >> i believe every maryland or should be able to pursue the american dream. you work hard, play by the rules, sacrifice when necessary, you can not only pursue but achieve your dreams. my parents came to this country six decades ago in pursuit of the dream. marylanders have a choice.

whether to embrace the vision that we share with countless marylanders. we will get up every morning, fighting for working families and the middle class values. or whether we favor large corporations and the privileged few. will we fund pre-k or give a tax -- corporate tax giveaway? i need your vote in four weeks. i need your help in the next four weeks. more portly, we need unique each and every day for the next four years as we -- we need you each and every day for the next four years as we build a better maryland. >> we want to thank the candidates and the baltimore sun. i want to thank you for watching. please remember to cast your vote on election day. good evening. >> thank you for watching. this has been a presentation from maryland's new

station. -- news station. >> on a website, you can see ads for races across the country. these are running in the irginia senate race. >> i am mark warner. >> enron, the largest corporate fraud in american history. edgar left's be -- ed gillespie was their lobbyist. >> thousands lost their jobs nd life savings. >> the former leaders of enron had to prison.

>> either directly through a carbon tax or indirectly, we will put a price on carbon. >> they want to tax coal which ill kill jobs. the anti-coal agenda will raise electric bills, devastate the economy, and kill virginia jobs. i will fight colfax. ---- might -- coal tax. i approved this message. >> ed gillespie is attacking mark warner with what experts call misleading ads. he is trying to find a bipartisan solution to cut the national debt. that is why many have endorsed him. >> working together will. i approved this message.

>> i worked my way through college. i worked from the parking lot to the white house. there's opportunity and dignity in work. but too many virginians are squeezed by mark warner and resident obama policies. mark warner votes with the president 90% in -- 97% of the ime. >> maryland representative donna edwards is the first woman to represent her state -- she is the keynote speaker at the center for american progress, examining the underrepresentation of women and people of color in elected ffice. >> in our campaign 2014 with a week full of debates.

live coverage of the pennsylvania governor's ebate. thursday, at 7:30 eastern, live coverage of the illinois debate etween candidates. and live coverage of the llinois governor's debate. friday night, live at 8:00 eastern, the wisconsin governor's debate. saturday at 8:00 eastern, live coverage of the iowa senate ebate. sunday, live at 8:00 p.m. eastern, the michigan governor's debate. -span campaign 2014.

>> and now the second debate between the west virginia candidates for senate. the winner will replace senator rockefeller who is retiring. this is one hour. >> the 2014 u.s. senatorial debate between republican shelley moore capito and democratic west virginia secretary of state natalie tennant. this debate is sponsored by aarp, west virginia metro news, west virginia press association, and west virginia public broadcasting. here is your moderator. >> good evening. i am pleased to welcome you inside the walker theater for this 2014 united states senate

debate. tonight's event is presented by aarp and the west virginia press association. we welcome our viewers on c-span tonight. you have an opportunity to hear from the democratic and republican candidates in their own words as we discussed many of the issues important to west virginians and their families. tonight's debate includes an opportunity for you to be involved in the discussion by ocial media. secretary of state natalie tennant, the democratic candidate. she was sworn in as the 29th secretary of state in 2009 and reelected in 2012. she attended wvu where she earned her bachelors and masters degrees in represented the school as the first female mountaineer.

she worked in west virginia television broadcast media for more than a decade and was a co-owner of the video production and media training firm she operated with her husband. they're the parents of a daughter. to my right is congresswoman shelley moore capito. she is serving in her seventh term as u.s. representative for the second congressional istrict. she attended duke university and the university of virginia. she's a senior member of the house transportation and infrastructure committee. prior to her election to congress, she served as a two-term member of the west virginia house of delegates. she and her husband charlie have three children and two grandchildren. each candidate will get two minutes to deliver an opening statement.

>> thank you. thank you for moderating tonight's debate. i want to thank the sponsors of the nights debate. i want to thank secretary tennant for being here with me. most of all, i want to thank the viewers at home. west virginia is at a turning point. for the last six years, our economy has been under assault by the policies of president obama. i have traveled this state, folks who have lost their jobs, people who cannot pay their health care premiums. we clearly need a change in the nited states senate. i'm running to be a senator from west virginia because i believe that west virginia's best days are ahead of us. we have an enormous amount of

natural resources. i think my plan will help us reach our potential here in west virginia. i will continue to fight for west virginia coal. i think we need to use our natural gas resources. we need to make sure that west virginia's citizens, older and younger, have the tools and the education they need for the 21st-century economy. a future where we will continue to have washington pick winners and losers or are we going to elect the senator who will stand up and fight for us? i believe i have the experience in a practical way of solving problems. i believe west virginia needs to work and washington needs to work for us. i look forward to discussing these issues with secretary tennant in this debate

tonight. >> most importantly, thank you to all of you at home for tuning in tonight. this race is about you. the congressman wants you to believe that this race is about washington politicians. i'm here to tell you that this race is about west virginia. not president obama, not harry reid. hey are not on the ballot. every time you hear the congresswoman say something about harry reid or barack obama, i want you to ask yourself -- what is she hiding? she is hiding the votes she has taken to hurt you. you know me. you know i grew up on a farm, he youngest of seven kids.

you know my record. you know i will stand up to politics as usual in washington just as i have done in charleston. in 2010, when three the critic officials tried to steal an election, i led the investigation to put them behind bars. i do not answer to a party. i answer to the people of west virginia. i cut my budget, i saved $3 million and gave it back to the taxpayers of west virginia. the congresswoman voted to give taxpayer dollars to ceo's on wall street. she voted twice to give bonuses to ceo's while we were bailing out those banks. that is the difference in this race. i'm proud to be endorsed by the senator jay rockefeller, the united mine workers of america, west virginia teachers from an afl-cio. i know what it is like to work

a minimum wage job. i know what it is like to run a small business. i know what is like to send a usband to war. >> thank you for your opening remarks. the remainder of this evening's debate will focus on questions posed to each candidate on a otating basis. there will be two opportunities for a candidate to pose a 30-second challenge to ebuttal. you will push back against the president and the epa on coal. we have heard similar messages from the governor, congressman ray hall. why should we believe that you

will be successful as a new person in washington where members of your own party have not been successful? >> i did have that commercial and it got some attention from a lot of folks including tment. because whether the president believes it or not coal is still 40% of the electricity in this country and more than 90% here in west virginia. ive been endorsed by the ubenited coal miners of america because they trust me to help save their job. they know i have a plan. and i've challenged the president to invest the $8 billion that we have at the department of energy to have retro fitting our coal fired power planlts. that's one way to save our jobs. have why the coal miners

endorse me. they know i will stand up for their health, safety, and pensions. common cap to was the only woman to vote against the safety act. they know she also voted to cut mine inspectors in a dangerous budget that she continues to vote for the coal miners also endorse me because they know that i will stand up to the e.p.a. just as i did a couple months ago when i marched through the streets with 6,000 workers showing our voices and marchings against the e.p.a. and president obama and that's how i'm going to make a different. >> your response. >> response is that my opponent has supported the president as putting west virginiaance out of jobs. that's exactly what she would do when she goes to washington. she gave money to his inauguration. mrs. obama says that we need secretary tepnt to continue the

president's jeapeda on health care and guns and certainly coal as well. so i don't think while -- she went to washington to try to talk to the e.p.a. and came hope and the explanation was we have a failure to communicate. ile stand strong on my record of defending west virginia coal. we have passed bill out of bill of the house and the obstructionism of president obama and harry reid is -- stops us at every point. and the only way to change this is to change our voice in the senate to elect a senator who created the coal caucus, who stands up and stood for miners and who knows that this administration is out to destroy us and our jobs. >> you have repeatedly talked about the job killing regulations. figures from the bureau of business economic research show that in 2000, the year you were first elected, west virginia was

49th in per capita income. in 2013, we are still 49th. you blame the epa and this administration. hasn't there been economic stagnation that has occurred under a and republican administrations and daring yours firm? ? why during your term should west virginians believe six years in the senate will be different than your 14 years in the congress? >> you have to account for the last six years. we have lost 7000 coal mining jobs. if you do the multiplier effect, that is 28,000 west virginians who are out of work. talk to the alpha miners. 1000 coal miners who have lost their jobs. will we see the policies that have moved forward, we have a health care bill moving us to a

part-time economy. 63% of those part-time jobs are women. salaries are going down. expendable dollars are going down. we are spending more on energy, more on health care, because of the policies my opponent supports. that president obama supports. i cannot say everything is rosy for the first eight years. but these last six years have devastated west virginia. >> rebuttal? >> congresswoman capito said in her opening statement, we need a washington that works for us. she has been there for 14 years. that is why it is time to send me. as she sits here and tells you what she will do, what has she done? for the last 14 years. the coal miners know and are behind me in this race. they have endorsed me.

the united mine workers of america. they know i will stand up for them. when she talks about these coal miners, did she talk to them and say she has hurt them? she has hurt their safety by voting against the coal mine safety act in the wake of the tragedy in 2010? she has voted to cut funding to the black lung benefits. $1 million, hurting more than 2000 coal miners. how about patriot coal? when patriot coal filed for bankruptcy, the coal miners rallied. i stood shoulder to shoulder with those retirees trying to fight for those health care benefits and their pensions. where was the congresswoman? she was not standing with the coal miners. she was going behind their backs and taking checks from the patriot executives, the same ones trying to slash their pensions.

i will stand for the call miners . the congresswoman has not stood up for a call miners. the most important part of coal is the coal miner. >> i think this is a myth my opponent keeps pushing forward. i joined to convince the president, who was going to cut the million dollars from the black lung program, the president my opponent has supported was going to cut the program. i joined my fellow colleagues to do that. >> we continue on the economic front. let me get to regulations. in an ad younant,

ran last week, the announcer says, the financial services committee, she helps bankers get rich. while that's virginians were losing their job to wall street, shea gave her husband, a wall street banker, inside tips and they made more than $100,000. personallyat capito benefited from her position in congress. what did she do to enrich herself and her husband? are you implying she is corrupt? >> congresswoman capito broke the trust of west virginians. this is about the trust that the people of west virginia deserve to have in their elected officials. congresswoman capito serves on a committee that is supposed to oversee banks. at the same time protect customers and consumers. the charleston gazette had the headline in black and white were

it says, whether they are large or small, capito tends to side with banks. that is breaking the trust of west virginians. if she is siding with banks, she is not siding with west virginians. even politico magazine stated lobbyists sayet that congresswoman capito is their go-to person. who is your go-to person? i will be your go-to person. i will stand up for you and your families. i will fight for the kind of future you want for your children. >> just a point of clarification, did she and her husband personally benefit from her position in congress? >> yes. from her own financial filings, you can see that she made money. here's the point. congress has access to information the regular west virginians don't have access to. the fact is that during the financial crisis, west virginians were losing their

retirement, losing their savings, and their homes. congresswoman capito was making money. >> these kinds of personal attacks that are unfounded, untrue, undocumented, and unable to have any kind of factual basis. the person she is using as her factual basis as i was not at the suppose it meeting and i did not have insider information. this is a desperate attack by a desperate candidate who wants to shift the conversation away from jobs, education, health care, energy. other things must virginians are tuning in to talk about. i'm not surprised because i understand she will do anything and say anything to get elected. you want to talk about trust, i've built 18 years of trust with west virginians. they know me and they know my family. i don't appreciate my family being attacked. that is not a west virginia

value. i'm going to stand up and fight that. the personal attacks are despicable and i would like to ask the secretary tonight if she would stop with the nasty personal attacks and let's talk about the issues. >> congresswoman -- >> may i use a challenge? first off, what is she talking about a meeting? i never mentioned a meeting. there is no mention of a meeting and my ad. i am not sure what she's talking about, that i think she just confirmed the congress has access the west virginians don't have. the center for public integrity called you wall street's secret weapon. sure, you want to stop the personal ads. i believe you are the one who began the personal ads back in july. , yourgresswoman capito

opponent has criticized you of being too cozy with the banks and financial industry. you say you voted against the bank bailout twice. you voted against the pay for performance act of 2009 that was aimed at controlling the excessive bonuses that bankers received while they were getting taxpayer bailout money. why should financial companies that made poor decisions and were saved by the taxpayers be able to reward bad behavior? >> when the big banks came knocking, i voted no twice. i was the only member of the west virginia delegation that voted no twice. i've been fighting this. two big to fail, we cannot bailout financial institutions. i also voted to tax any bonus that may possibly come forward at 90%. the bill you are talking about and the statements i made at the time was a very broad-based bill.

not just executives getting bonus, but somebody in a local office that might be administrative person. i did not think that was fair. they had no bearings and wall street debacle. i will defend the west virginia community banks and west virginia credit unions. we need to have a full financial system in the state that does not include big banks. it includes the ability to get a car, get a mortgage, go to school. i have looked out for our community banks and credit unions and west virginia and i will stand by that. >> your response? >> congresswoman capito said she voted twice against the bailouts. she is correct about that. they came knocking and she voted against the bailout.

they kept coming and they kept coming and they knocked again and not only did she open the door, she left the door wide open and voted twice to give our taxpayer dollars to those ceo's in the form of those bonuses. that is the distinction. i gave back $3 million and gave it back to the taxpayers. the congresswoman is giving money to the ceo's. let's talk about west virginia. west virginians are suffering. they deserve a pay raise, too. why don't we increase minimum wage? i am for increasing minimum wage for west virginia workers and not worrying about the pro fits of wall street before our workers. >> you have argued for expanded unemployment benefits. you said economic experts agree that extending unemployment insurance would be a boon for the economy generating economic

growth and increase consumer spending. if that is true, why not extend jobless benefits for even longer to even more people? what is the economic principle behind your argument? >> when you talk about unemployed west virginians, i think about the workers in the northern panhandle who lost their jobs, the company was over right across the river. the impact it has on the economy and west virginia. i think about our unemployed. i am worried about coal miners who have received those notices. they lost their jobs out of no-fault of their own.

they need a little help while they are trying to look for other jobs. it is an economic boost. it would bring $20 million to the economy of west virginia. congresswoman capito has blocked that. we have 16,000 west virginians who could use the unemployment extended insurance while they are looking for jobs. let's help create jobs. let's create good paying jobs. we have all the possibilities to do that. with our energy resources that we have and the research and technology and our manufacturing know-how. that is why i am running to help support and for the high-tech manufacturing that we have in our community and technical colleges to work. >> congresswoman? >> when i think about unemployed workers, i think about the over 7000 coal miners out of a job. i think about the rail workers, electricians. this is directly attributable to

the policies of president obama, harry reid, who are supporting my opponent. she may say the president is not on the ballot. guess what the president said the other day. every single one of my policies is on the ballot. who is his representative on the ballot? the secretary. west virginians out of work know that and they will vote like that in november. , youngresswoman capito supported raising the minimum wage at time. president obama called for a higher minimum wage and you said, i believe congress should debate whether the minimum wage should be raised again. in 2013, you voted against congressman miller's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10. do you support or oppose raising

the minimum wage to $10.10. >> i don't think we have had a direct vote on raising the minimum wage. i did vote in 2007 to raise the minimum wage. i believe in a healthy minimum wage. it is not meant to be a wage to raise your families. i believe we need to look at the ramifications of raising the minimum wage. the state of west virginia took it upon themselves to do a three-part gradual raising of the minimum wage. maybe $8.75. i think that is a good start. i think studies show that if you raise the minimum wage, it could cost half a million jobs. i don't think we are in an economy where we can costs ourselves half a million jobs. i did say i believe we should debate this on the house floor and i think i would look favorably upon raising the minimum wage. >> up on the farm, we are taught that actions speak louder than words.

you'll see a lot of this tonight. saying something here but her vote says something different in washington. she says it in the vote for minimum wage. i will vote for an increase in minimum wage to $10.10 an hour because west virginians deserve that. she wants to give bonuses to our taxpayer dollars to ceo's on wall street. i want to give minimum wage increases to our working families. you cannot survive on 15,000 dollars a year. that is how much you make if you are working a 40 hour workweek. westis not right for virginia to have worked so hard. congresswoman says yes, we should have a debate. certainly, we should have a debate. what is congress doing right now? they are sitting at another vacation. congress is on a six-week vacation. ?or what yo

to campaign? i don't know. certainly, we deserve the debate and we deserve congress to get to work. >> let's move onto foreign policy. presidenttennant, obama has ordered u.s. military campaign against the islamic state. you said in an interview with me, i am not for boots on the ground. upon to sendcaused young west virginians into battle. can you define your line in the sand at which point you would support sending troops from west virginia across the country into harm's way? >> i do support whatever efforts it takes to keep america safe by using the fewest number of americans. by putting the fewest number of americans and harm. i am not ready to put boots on

the ground because i don't believe we have exhausted all of our resources and all of our options. as a wife who has sent a husband to war, i know that when we talk about boots on the ground, our national security, the men and women who serve in uniform. we can have all the technology in the world. our men and women in uniform are the basis for our national security. we have already had our first fatality in this war on isis with corporal jordan spears. we lost when his aircraft lost power. that is a tragic reminder that airstrikes or boots on the ground, it is still -- our men and women in uniform we must be standing up and debating.

you're asking me for a definite line in the sand. that is not an easy answer. there should be a debate taking place in congress. for the american people to be able to hear all the information. once i hear all the information, i will be able to make that definite line in the sand answer. o, yourresswoman capiti response? >> visuals of isis beheading two americans and threatening to behead another and british journalists and aid workers, or it is just jarring to all of us. i think that because of the president's week policies in iraq, we find ourselves in a position where this terrorist group has been fomenting, raising money, raising membership. i find it frightening in terms of what could happen on our homeland. that has to be what you think

about. the secretary is right, there is nothing more valuable for us as americans than our servicemen and women and i appreciate her husband's service to our country. i take these decisions very seriously. i did vote to have the president train the syrian rebels because i feel like we need a coalition of people that will stop the terrorist group from further growth. >> let's move onto health care. and the affordable care act. congresswoman capito, the house has voted over four dozen times to revamp, repeal, or tweak that law. at least five times you've voted with the republican majority in the house for outright repeal. there areuse of aca, about 140,000 additional west virginians who have health care through medicaid and 20,000 have insurance through the exchange. would you vote again to repeal aca?

which would mean those 160,000 west virginians would lose their insurance. >> i would vote to repeal and replace. i voted for that 50 times. i also recognize that aca has some very good things about it. making sure that people do not cut off their insurance for pre-existing conditions. i believe that before the president decided to take it in a larger and more detrimental direction. i believe keeping our students on until they're 26. i think that is a good thing. we need to keep what is good, replace it with what will work. get rid of the business mandate. make sure businesses do not have a 30% increase in their premiums. 7000 west virginia have lost their health care plan. the president, my opponent supports his policies, said, if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. that did not work out so well.

it was sold as a bill of goods. we are hearing about people losing their physicians, deductibles have gone up into the thousands of dollars. it is unaffordable. i wish we had worked together. i wish we had worked in a toartisan way to find a way keep them insured. that is important to us as a state. >> your response? >> here she goes again. she says one thing and votes another way. she says she is for all of these things in the aca but yet she , has voted to repeal it. i won't vote to repeal it. i know what it is like to go without health care. my daughter had open-heart surgery when she was a week old. many folks prayed for her and those prayers were answered. she is a healthy, happy 12-year-old.

when my husband and i started our small business, we wanted to buy insurance. he called and i remember the day i came home and he said, i talked to the insurance companies. he said, they will cover me and you, but they will not cover delaney because of her pre-existing condition. i was devastated. what parent takes something that their child cannot have? i will never go back to the day when insurance companies can deny insurance for someone with a pre-existing condition. to to sitresswoman capi here and say that she is for that, too, she has voted to take that away. >> social security, we know the problems social security faces. in an interview with the dominion post, you said you favored raising the cap on income taxable for social security to make the program

solvent. a 2014 cbo report says if you raise the payroll cap to $240,000, it would help, but would not eliminate the actuarial imbalance. do you support more than doubling the cap on the taxable income? if not what specific measures do , you support to make social security solvent again. >> i am supportive of raising the cap -- to $240,000 -- not quite that far yet. we can raise minimum wage. if you have more people getting paid, they will pay into social security. i will look at the people of west virginia and i will look into your eyes and this is what i tell you i won't do. i will not privatize your social security. i will not take your social

security and put in the hands of those on wall street so they can gamble it away. that is not very secure and imagine what would've happened had that been done like congresswoman capito wanted to do before the financial crisis. she will sit here and tell you she has never wanted to privatize social security and she does not want to do it now. most recently as 2011, she voted to keep the option on the table for privatizing social security. remember what i learned on the farm, actions speak louder than words. votes speak louder than words, too. her votes indicate that she would take social security and she would privatize it and hurt security for our seniors and west virginia. i will protect it and i will help to strengthen it. >> i think this is an attack to scare seniors in terms of social security. i've been in office for 14 years and i have opposed privatizing social security on down the line.

congressman hoyer, when he wrote to president bush in 2004, he said republicans are against privatizing like congresswoman shelley moore capito. i think we should bust the cap on the social security taxes. i'll be willing to take it up hoppyhe $200,000 number mentioned. we have to find solutions. if we don't, i have younger children. there will be no social security. we have to lay down the arms and work together and solve a difficult problem. in 2037, social security is going bust. for those workers now that are working towards that in their future, will be a difficult future if we don't have the promises made or the promises kept. i will keep the promise of social security. >> let me segue into medicare. congresswoman capito, earlier

this year the , republican-controlled house passed a paul ryan budget. you voted for that. that plan had a number of reforms to entitlement spending. the wall street journal reported mr. ryan also called for overhauling medicare to allow americans who turned 65 to choose between private insurance plans with government premiums or staying untraditional medicare. do you support a partial privatization of medicare? >> i support reforming medicare and keeping medicare for future generations. i've been facing this in my own family in terms of trying to help senior care with my parents. the wrong way to go is the way the president has gone. through the aca, obamacare, that my opponent has supported, a $700 billion cut to medicare. thousands of west virginia and

have lost their medicare advantage options. our home health care system is exceedingly important to our seniors through medicare, it is being cut by $700 billion. that, to me, is inexcusable. that is what secretary tennant has supported. what i think we need to do, the budget you are talking about gives the options for seniors to stay in traditional medicare. if that is what you like, you can stay in traditional medicare. if you want to look at another option, maybe we ought to look at other options for future generations. this is not for anybody 55 or older, it is for the younger generations. our children and grandchildren, there will be no medicare if we don't lay down the arms. stop the name-calling and the scare tactics. and really face the problem. there is not enough of working people to support the baby boomer generation.

like you and i are. that are going to be in the medicare system before we know it. tennant?ary >> there is no one more serious about cutting the budget than i am. i've given money back to the taxpayers of west virginia. i will not balance a budget off the backs of seniors. budgets are about priorities. my priority is west virginia. her priority, as she has shown, is wall street. she talks about medicare and she talks a good game, but those dangerous budgets she voted for four times cut and make medicare , gut medicare and make it a voucher program. she is handing a coupon to our seniors and says you are on your own when it comes to buying insurance with insurance companies. don't take my word for it. take the alliance for retired americans. this is the record, the lifetime score they give for the congresswoman. she talks about being on the side of seniors.

she has a lifetime score of 18%. right there is the proof. , thecretary tennant state supreme court recently .uled 5-0 the commissiond blatantly ignored the law. another said the actions of the commission as well the state's chief election official -- you -- is both disturbing and unconscionable. why should west virginians have faith in your leadership? justices, you and your offices failed to correctly interpret the law and is not -- in this matter. >> i want to make clear that i have stepped up. our office has absorbed the cost of reprinting the ballots.

the ballots are getting in the hands of the voters and the 35th district. this was a decision from the five-member bipartisan group of the state election commission, of which the chairman is a republican. we looked at the evidence. we looked at the evidence out before us. we studied it, we question the, we debated and we asked questions of those who came to the sec meeting. as you read, the supreme court said we did not get it right. so we got to work. we corrected the problem. the secretary of states office and the sec's office will absorb the cost of this ballots. i haveetary of state, been a good steward of the money for the people of west virginia. i have cut my budget and i have given $3 million back to the taxpayers.

i've cut fees for businesses. i have made it easier for our military members to be able to vote when they are deployed. i have gone after election fraud when we have seen it. and we have invested it -- and we had investigated it. >> your response? >> when you're asking for a promotion, the first thing people want to know, how have you done in your last job? the supreme court told the secretary of state, the chief elections office in the state that she got it wrong. , it was obvious it was for political reasons. now she is saying the ballots will be reprinted. she will absorb the cost. where does she get her budget act of the taxpayers. -- where does she get her budget? the taxpayers. i am astounded at the explanation. we made a mistake. we are reprinting the ballots. it is october. if you talk about using the office -- let's talk about putting social security numbers on your website. let's talk about putting a conference call number on your

website. it ran up a bill of $400,000 to your taxpayers. let's talk about reprinting ballots. this is not the first time we've had to reprint the ballots. your job is the chief elections officer and you are getting it wrong. nsdon't know why west virginia would think that is a reason to permit you to the senate. ?> your response >> congresswoman capito throwing out a whole lot of numbers and hoping that some of them stick. the number you need to remember is $3 million. she talks about the conference call. she does not have her facts right. she is purposefully misleading you as citizens. the conference call she is talking about was from the board of physical therapy. i have a letter here and i will give it to you. it is a letter from at&t and it says the conference call was their fault.

they are paying the bill. the people of west virginia never paid it. here's that information. do you want to give it to her? >> i will hang onto it until the end of the debate. this would go to congresswoman capito. in january 2011, there was a mass shooting in tucson that killed six people and wounded 14 others. the attacker used a gun with a high-capacity magazine. the nra opposes any restrictions on capacity magazines. you have an a rating from the nra and their endorsement. can you make an argument for why an individual has the right to buy a high-capacity magazine? >> i'm happy to have their endorsement. west virginia is a second amendment state and i'm a believer in the second amendment.

i know gabrielle giffords. i served with her and she is a remarkable individual. i know she is working hard every day. best wishes to her and to her husband. the main problem is the mental health system. we saw that at newtown, we saw that in arizona. the mental health system has failed us tremendously. that is why i have worked with my fellow members of congress to get a mental health system to make sure those who should not have access to firearms, that are in the mental health system should be disallowed from ever having access to any kind of firearm. we need to make sure that is coordinated with all of the different background checks and other things. we have seen that the virginia tech shooting.

that guy was in the mental health system as well. but fell through the cracks. we cannot keep going like that. congressman murphy in pennsylvania and i have worked hard to make sure we are coordinating the mental health system to make sure these types of incidences don't happen again. >> your response? >> if you're a law-abiding citizen, you should be able to purchase a weapon. we want to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, criminals, and those who have been deemed mentally incompetent. i grew up, like so many west virginians, i grew up on a farm surrounded by guns with my brothers going hunting. being a mountaineer and having a muzzleloader myself. i do not need the nra. many west virginians will agree that they do not need an outside group to tell them how they

stand with guns. i represent the second amendment. i am strong in saying that west virginians have a right to have their guns. i myself have a concealed weapons permit and i have guns of my own. >> let me continue on the gun track. proposal for gun control legislation that expands background checks for sales at gun shows and the internet. you said you had questions about the bill. you wanted to get the pulse of west virginia's. you've been out on the campaign trail and you've talked to a lot of people. do you support or oppose the bill? >> i said i oppose the

manchin-toomey bill because west virginians should be making the choice of what they want to happen in west virginia. >> i oppose the bill. i've opposed it all the way through. i think the secretary has had a change of heart recently. >> let me move on. speed -- westats virginia lacks in internet speed . does the federal government have a role in expanding internet in west virginia? what would you do to secure funding to expand broadband? where would the funding come from? >> yes, internet is so important. especially for the rural parts of our state and for job creation as well. we had thisg that opportunity with the stimulus money. we need to continue to work on the lines that have been put

,hrough and continue to add let's finish the whole mile. when you talk about job creation, you are exactly right, when we are talking about small businesses especially, just last week, the wvu economist said our job creation is going to come through small businesses here in west virginia. i'm a small business owner, so i look through the eyes of a small business owner in making decisions. that is why i cut fees in the secretary of state's office. compare that to what the congresswoman has done. she has written legislation to raise fees on our businesses. what is a slight fee? every time you have a credit card or debit card and it is used, there is a charge associated with it. it is either the customer paying it or the business. as i travel around the state, i talked to businesses, whether it hop, these are

some of the words i hear. it is terrible. it is killing us. it is our worst enemy. that is coming from small businesses. congresswoman capito champions this increase. wells fargo spent $6 million lobbying to raise those fees. she sided with wall street and wells fargo. i will side with our small businesses and job creations. >> a rebuttal? >> i will answer the question. i do not know how we got from internet to swipe fees. that was a predebate talking point. we need broadband. i am deeply disappointed. the trillion dollar stimulus did not result in a job creation. we saw what happened with some of the internet money that came in to west virginia. we have routers that nobody is using. small businesses could probably use that, but it was unusable.

when i was in hampshire county, they have hardly any connectivity. how will you draw people in the d.c. area if you do not have connectivity? the infrastructures of tomorrow that we have to have, we needed today. this is one of my passions. >> you and your opponent have spoken out against the epa's regulations on carbon emissions. they are trying to reduce carbon emissions and get other countries to follow suit to save the planet. a recent report concluded, according to the new york times, that icecaps are melting, water supplies are coming under stress, heat waves and heavy rains are intensifying. do you believe the scientists are simply wrong? if they are correct, don't we have an obligation to do something about it? >> it is weaving a balance between the economy and the

environment is always difficult. we are faced for it in west virginia because we are heavily blessed with natural resources that power this country. the epa overreach is unbelievable. the new clean air -- for the existing coal-fired power plant, not one power plant in the state meets the parameters set out by the president, who my opponent supports his policies. she must support this. what are we supposed to do? let's have something that makes sense. let's have technologies that are reachable and affordable. the president says we need to lead on this. if the president is leading the globe on this issue and china and india and japan and all the other nations are not following, he is just taking a walk. he is taking a walk at the expense of the men and women in the coal fields. 7000 jobs and more to come. this is a travesty. we have got to stop this.

that is what this election is about. >> a point of clarification. do think the scientists are wrong? >> i don't necessarily think the climate is changing. i think we half to find a balance in changing this. without hurting the heartland of this country. without hurting west virginia families. cliques and a bottle? -- >> a rebuttal? >> i have listened to the scientists. i know there is a consensus and i don't disagree with them. at the same time, we do not need to choose between clean air and clean coal. clean air and good paying jobs, rather. i know that we have the technology that can meet the demand and that is why had challenged the president and the epa. we have the national energy technology lab in morgantown that can develop carbon capture storage. i've challenged the president to use the $8 million in the department of energy and guaranteed loans that instead of

using them as loans, take the money directly invest and have this technology that will save our jobs and have technology used around the world that will make coal more competitive. that is why the united mine workers endorse me. the coal miners know i will save their jobs. >> we have about three minutes left. i will ask for a one minute response. last year, the supreme court struck down the section of the federal defense of marriage act. we have had all of these court decisions, one just yesterday. a non-decision decision. that is essentially paving the way for same-sex marriages in west virginia. i think both of you oppose same-sex marriage. secretary tennant, 60 seconds. do you support or oppose same-sex marriage? does what is happening in the cards change your opinions at all?

>> i have thought about this. i have prayed about this. i think about how do i want to be treated? i tried to live by the golden rule. do unto others as you would have them do unto you. how do i want to be treated? i want to be treated equally and fairly. under the law, people should be treated equally and fairly. does the church go against this doctrine? not at all. we as west virginians know about fairness and freedom. mountaineers are always free. >> is that a support? >> it is support for equality and the law being equal under the law. >> my voting record and my personal belief is that marriage is between a man and a woman. i've had a long history on that, dating back from when i was in the west virginia legislature. i believe the decision that has been made is saying the states will make their own decisions. i will abide with what the state of west virginia decides in this matter.

>> thank you both very well. we appreciate you coming by. it was a spirited discussion. good luck on the campaign trail. we have reached the end of our debate this evening. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] virginia senate debate and other debates around the country are available at c-span.org. here's a look at some of the ads running in that state. >> with obamacare, we are losing our choice of doctors, a higher deductible, a higher premium. >> shelley moore capito supports having your health insurance cover pre-existing conditions. and be portable from job to job. >> health care is going to get more expensive. it is going to be costly for small businesses. this administration has put a big damper on our way of life and our love of freedom. i am shelley moore capito and i approve this message.

>> when she was a week old our , daughter had open-heart surgery that saved her life. friends and family and folks all across west virginia prayed with us, the insurance company called her a pre-existing condition. i know health care reform was not done right. there is a lot i will do to make it better for west virginia. i won't ever go back to the days of letting insurance companies deny coverage to our children. i am natalie tennant and i approve this message. >> it is sad to say we are now seeing politics at its worst. my opponent is attacking my personal integrity and my family with ads that are blatantly false. i am disappointed, but not surprised. she has shown that she will say and do anything. misleading voters on purpose just to get elected is not a west virginia value. i will fight just as hard for my family as i have for all of west virginia. i am shelley moore capito and i approve this message. >> i am natalie tennant and i approve this message.

>> what do we really know about congresswoman shelley moore capito? on the financial services committee she helps bankers get , rich. in return, they have given her nearly $2 million. while west virginians were losing their jobs and savings to wall street, she gave her husband, a wall street banker, insider tips. and they made more than $100,000. congresswoman capito, she keeps getting richer and west virginians pay the price. >> our campaign 2014 coverage continues with a week full of debates. tonight at sign a cot, live coverage of the pennsylvania thursday onbate, c-span, live coverage of the illinois u.s. house debate for the 17th district between cheri bustos and bobby

schilling. coverage of the illinois governor's debate. friday night, the wisconsin governors debate between scott walker and mary burke. at 8:00 night on c-span eastern, coverage of the iowa senate debate. send a comment live at 8:00 p.m. eastern, the michigan governors debate between rick snyder and mark schauer. the than 100 debates for control of congress. council hosts a discussion about online voting technology, its potential use, and the security concerns of implementation. life starting at advocat a.m. eastern on c-span2. -- live starting 9:00 a.m. eastern on c-span2. >> c-span's student can competition is underway.

prizes award 150 totaling $100,000. create a 5-7 minute documentary on "the three branches and you." include c-span video, include different points of view. grab a camera and get started today. a look at how u.s. foreign policy in latin america affects the hispanic vote in the midterm elections. center for from the strategic and international studies, looks at issues including immigration, cuba, and trade with mexico and central america. it is just over an hour.

>> welcome. i think were going to get started. good morning, everybody. and welcome to csis. i'm glad you could join us. i'm the director of the americas program. i want to welcome you to what i think is probably one of the most interesting events we are going to be having this fall. today, we will be talking about latin america in the context of the u.s. midterm elections. i imagine that some of you are not entirely sure why this region is relevant to the midterms. you assume that the majority of this event will be about immigration reform. sure, some of it will be. we will be talking about it today for sure. what we are hoping to impart is a different message. not that immigration is the only issue that makes latin america relevant to u.s. elections, that it is one of many. issuesre a series of

that are relevant both to foreign policy and in domestic policy. immigration is one of those issues. thes key, essentially in midterms. u.s.-cuba policy, our relationship with venezuela, energy security, trade and commerce, these are regional issues that have a large and growing electoral relevance in the united states. let's look at the context we are operating in first. last year, we have seen upwards of 70,000 unaccompanied children illegally crossed into the united states across the southern border. panama recently invited cuba to the upcoming summit of the americas meeting. calling into question that forum and the u.s. role in it. the ongoing political crisis in venezuela has repeatedly made headlines in the united states, largely because of the country's role in energy stability and the

country's role in international crime throughout the region. that is not to say the developments are taking center stage here. issues like the threat of isil and the russia-ukraine crisis will still dominate media coverage and campaign talking points. latin america should be a u.s. foreign-policy priority, to. on the one hand i say that because it deserves substantive terms. on the other hand, given demographic changes, the issues will only become more important. latin america is uniquely relevant to the united states. and of course the evolving demographic makeup. in terms of prosperity, the numbers speak for themselves. the u.s. took in $180 billion in

imports from latin america and 2013 and 160 in exports. natural resource development and energy reform in mexico improves energy security as well. production chains are deep we integrated as well. thanks to nafta, 40% of goods made in mexico contain manufactured in the united elements states. the u.s.-mexico border is 2000 miles long. flying to venezuela takes about 3.5 hours. cuba is 90 miles from florida. that should give you an idea of how truly close we are. because of that geographic closeness violence and drug , trafficking reverberate north. traffickers from mexico. implying that maintaining security on the border is a shared responsibility. as a result, most u.s. foreign-policy in the region is channeled into corporate -- into cooperative security framework. cooperative security arrangements, which is a

cooperative security arrangement with mexico. these issues of drug trafficking and violence are connected to our own security. not just at the border. substantively, the region is key to u.s. interests, even if it always garner the crisis driven attention we see paid to other global hot spots. the changing demographics beat to this. issues related to the region will become relevant to elections here. midterms and presidential alike. what do the demographics look like? 2.5 million immigrants from all over the world have entered the u.s. since 2007. half are from latin america. as a demographic group, people of letting our agent up nearly 1/5 of the u.s.. origin make latino up nearly 1/5 of the u.s. the group is growing fast and increasingly relevant in key

electoral districts. in contrast to many other demographic groups, latino americans often care about policy issues that impact the countries of origin. in the immediate electoral context, what does that mean? geographically, most latinos live in states with sizable communities. florida, illinois, new jersey, new york and texas. five of those states have contestant midterms where latinos could make a difference. all nine will be key in 2016. let's look at colorado as an example. colorado's u.s. senate races closely contested. in nearly 15% the electorate is latino. many say the race has been made closer by president obama's decision to delay an executive action on immigration. the numbers speak for themselves.

toinos are 25% more likely support immigration reform than the general populace. over three quarters factor it into the voting habits. unaffiliated with either party overwhelmingly support immigration reform, and it is these voters who can make a big impact in election years. in 2012 president obama won the support of three quarters of the country's latino and 53% of all americans. his popularity has certainly decreased overall, but we have to look at the spread with regard to the issues as a whole. on the issues with latinos in particular, the president's support has dipped significantly. i will not get into the numbers because i think the panel will have their views, particularly on these issues, and i would say immigration is just one of these issues that will be relevant to electoral politics. i think i have taken enough time in the opening and i am sure of

the panelists will have different views. i will provide -- i will provide quick introductions and then we will get on with our even today. moderating this event, we will roig-franzia, longtime washington post writer. in miami in miami and mexico city and an accomplished author. i am thrilled to have him here. to my right, served as spokesperson to president obama at the deputy communications director and on numerous campaigns. arnavat.ht, gustavo

served as a political designee during the obama administration. my good friend and colleague runde, csis, dan project oncsis' prosperity and international development. director of the office of global development at usaid under president bush. welcome. i am thrilled all four of you are here and will turn it over to manuel for his opening and i would remind you we are on the record and are lucky to be covered by c-span. say hello to mom. [laughter] cracks thank you very much. we will have a conversation about two words that begin with

"pol" politics and policy and they are connected. i have been a reporter for a long time. one of the fundamentals of journalism is you never make predictions. they catch up with you. i would like to start today by making a prediction. the prediction is this -- the first latino president of the united states is alive, has been born. the first latino president might be a member of congress. she might be a first grader in texas. he might be a high schooler in california but that person is , alive. we are looking at the midterm elections. the midterms are always a test run for the presidential election. as we work through the distinguished panel, i think we should be keeping an eye on the connection between those events. november 2014 and november 2016.

so we should start with the honorable gustavo. the averaget lifespan of un-american i would , hope your prediction is very accurate. check with me in 50 years. >> let me start by saying yesterday there was a debate for the governor's race in new mexico. both debates are in spanish. i think this indicates the kind out to the hispanic community. in states like in mexico, half the population is hispanic. it is not just the states that are traditionally associated with latinos at colorado and mexico and florida that have high percentage of