SPOKANE, Wash. — Candidates for Washington’s 5th Congressional District went head to head in the debate on Tuesday night.
The October 8 debate took place at Gonzaga and was co-hosted by The Spokesman Review, Gonzaga, KSPS, The Black Lens and the Washington State Debate Coalition.
Democratic candidate, Carmela Conroy, and Republican candidate, Michael Baumgartner, debated on topics such as the opioid crisis, Washington’s economy and affordable healthcare.
“When I get to Congress, if I get to Congress… if you give me that ability, I’ll work on things that bring more price transparency and incentivize folks to make healthy decisions,” said Baumgartner.
He also acknowledged the need for more doctors in Washington.
Conroy spoke in favor of the Affordable Care Act and said she would try to expand it.
“I also would try to expand the number of pharmaceutical medicines for which the government could negotiate the price with the drug companies,” she said.
While discussing the opioid crisis, both candidates agreed more needs to be done to prevent illegal drugs from entering the U.S.
Conroy also said the pharmaceutical companies are largely to blame.
“We know that they lied about that. And so, part of what we need to do is hold pharmaceutical companies responsible and anybody else who’s put that poison into our systems and created this hellish system of addictions,” she said.
Baumgartner focused his response on the border.
“You know, I just can’t say enough how much we have to solve that border issue, because this fentanyl is probably the biggest problem we have in our communities right now, and it’s getting worse,” he said.
The candidates also discussed Washington’s economy and the housing crisis.
“In our state, for example, over $150,000 of the price of a new home is strictly because of wage and labor rates or regulations that come from Olympia. So that’s a local example, but there are examples all across the country where the federal government can take steps to bring prices down by reducing regulation,” said Baumgartner.
Conroy made a point to mention housing loans.
“The government could help make housing prices more affordable by making loans available at lower prices, even for people buying condos, so that people buying multi-family homes, or builders building multi-family homes would have access to the cheap credit that they need to get this economy really booming again,” said Conroy.
This race will result in eastern Washington’s first, new U.S. Representative since 2005, since Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers is not up for reelection.
Baumgartner currently serves as Spokane County Treasurer and Conroy is the former Deputy Prosecutor for Spokane County.
Voting starts October 18 and runs through November 5.
For more information about voting in Washington and Election Day, visit sos.wa.gov.
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