The Conway Daily Sun - Ayotte and Hassan Spar in First Debate

News Article

By Daymond Steer

Gov. Maggie Hassan, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, went on the offensive early and often against Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte during a debate held before nearly 300 people at the North Conway Grand Hotel on Friday morning.

The general election will be held on Nov. 8.

George Epstein, chairman of The Echo Group, moderated the debate, which lasted an hour and a half.

It was the first of six for the two candidates, who are locked in the tight race.

Though from different parties, there are similarities between Hassan, 58, of Exeter, and Ayotte, 48, of Nashua. Both candidates are lawyers by trade. They both want to reduce the deficit, fight ISIS and get health-care costs under control.

Epstein said a coin flip had determined that Hassan would go first.

During her opening remarks, Hassan touted the two "responsible" budgets she passed, as well as her efforts to make higher education affordable and to combat opioid and fentanyl abuse.

She then took a dig at Ayotte, a first-term U.S. senator and former state attorney general for New Hampshire.

"Unfortunately, what we see is the nation's capital has been truly captured by corporate special interests who have been stacking the deck for themselves at the expense of the middle class," said Hassan. "This race comes down to whether New Hampshire is going to have a senator who always stands for New Hampshire's priorities or a senator who continues to have an agenda shaped by corporate special interests."

Ayotte pointed to her bipartisan record in Washington as a reason she should be re-elected.

"This election is about the future of the country, it's about getting our fiscal house in order, it's about who can work together and get things done for the people of New Hampshire," said Ayotte. "Like the work I've done to address the heroin epidemic on a national level in a bipartisan way, to get better care for our veterans at a local level, and there's more work to be done, to make sure we have a better tax and regulatory climate for our small business to create good-paying jobs and to keep our country safe in a very dangerous world."

Both candidates' opening remarks were met with applause and hearty cheers from the audience.

Epstein's first pointed question was directed at Ayotte. He asked her about the differences between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and herself.

Ayotte said she differs with Trump on things like how to deal with NATO and "Russian aggression." She called President Barack Obama's nuclear agreement, which Hassan supports, "disastrous" because it keeps Iran on a path to getting a nuclear weapon.

Further distancing herself from Trump, Ayotte said: "I will stand up whenever I disagree with things that he says or policy matters where I think there is a better course for New Hampshire and the country. I will work with the other side, too, when there are things that we can work together on, on behalf of New Hampshire and the country."

For her part, Hassan said she differs with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Obama's proposal to close Guantanamo Bay because it could allow terrorists to get back onto the battlefield. But Hassan said Clinton is highly qualified and experienced. She derided Trump as being unfit for office and criticized Ayotte for backing the Republican nominee.

"It really does disappoint that she is supporting him, a man who says he has no plan to defeat ISIS at a time we know we have to do more to defeat ISIS," said Hassan.

The candidates also sparred on Medicare. In response to Epstein's question about cutting spending or raising taxes to balance the budget, Ayotte called out Hassan for misrepresenting the senator's stance on reforming Social Security and Medicare.

Hassan said: "Here's one of the major differences between my opponent and me. As we work to balance the budget, I won't do it on the backs of people who are in retirement with Medicare and Social Security."

She said those programs could be financed by closing tax loopholes for Wall Street and big oil.

Ayotte said that while serving on the budget committee, she helped pass the first balanced budget in 14 years. She also worked to cut wasteful programs. She refuted Hassan's claims regarding programs for seniors.

"My mother has Medicare and Social Security, so of course I don't want to harm my mother," said Ayotte. "The one thing I want to do is make sure these programs are there, and that means working together to come up with a sustainable path because Medicare is going into deficiency in 2028 and Social Security in 2034."

Epstein also drew contrasts between the candidates over the Affordable Care Act. He asked Hassan if it's a failure since costs haven't been contained and he asked Ayotte if it's a success because more people are insured now.

Hassan said the Affordable Care Act has allowed severely disabled people like her 28-year-old son, Ben, who has cerebral palsy, get medical coverage.

"We don't want to go back to a time where people with pre-existing conditions couldn't buy health insurance or where young people couldn't stay on their parents' health insurance until early adulthood," said Hassan, adding that the Affordable Care Act has allowed 50,000 people -- including 500 in Conway -- to be covered through Medicaid expansion.

Asked about the increased number of people who have coverage and whether she would repeal the bill, Ayotte responded that she keeps hearing that New Hampshire residents complain that they are shelling out for higher co-pays and deductibles, and have less access to health care. She has voted to repeal the ACA in the past. She believes more choices and market competition would bring down costs.

"Unfortunately, the Affordable Care Act isn't so affordable for a lot of people," said Ayotte.

Source