LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Democratic candidates looking to take Senator Mitch McConnell's seat took the debate stage Monday night. Following a debate last month featuring Republican candidates, the Democrats argued it is time for a new face in Washington, D.C.
Candidates discussed issues ranging from the economy and healthcare to immigration and foreign policy.
"Mitch McConnell has long forgotten about the people of Kentucky. He has sold us out a long time ago," former Kentucky Representative Charles Booker said.
Booker and former Secret Service agent Logan Forsythe expressed how tight checkbooks have been a longstanding issue for Kentuckians.
"Our minimum wage is $7.25, which is below the federal poverty line now, and it hasn't been raised since 2009. That has to be raised to a living wage standard or else working class Kentuckians will never get ahead," Forsythe said.
Former fighter pilot Amy McGrath said that the financial strain does not stop at the workplace.
"Affordable housing is so important, and it really affects young Kentuckians. I've talked to them every day. They can't afford a new home. They're already in debt. It's a real issue," McGrath said.
Current Kentucky House Minority Floor Leader Pamela Stevenson argued that heightened regulation now needs to be addressed across all fronts.
"And we've not done a good job of that. Just recently in Frankfort we worked on a bipartisan bill to help renters to give them a tax credit so that they can prepare themselves for home ownership," Stevenson said.
McGrath believes the stakes need to be raised for politicians.
"The first bill that I'm going to put in as the United States Senator is to make sure that if there is ever a government shutdown, guess who doesn't get paid? Congress doesn't get paid. That's how we stop these shutdowns," McGrath said.
Meanwhile, Forsythe, who had to rely on government assistance growing up, said the healthcare system is broken.
"We're looking at more Kentuckians than ever not having access to healthcare due to Medicare and Medicaid cuts. And I believe all Kentuckians regardless of party, understand that that's not right," Forsythe said.
Candidates agreed on what would be considered common-sense policymaking. Dale Romans, a well-known name in the horse training industry, said that mentality should be used across the board, even with President Trump's most controversial moves, like ICE.
"It would be great to just abolish ICE, but what do you do after that? They need to be put back on the borders where they belong. Where they were since they were established in 2000," Romans said.
The candidates also discussed the war in Iran.
"The war in Iran is wrong. It is illegal. It was not sanctioned by Congress. It was sanctioned by one man," Stevenson said.
"There's no plan in place. The Trump administration went it haphazardly," Romans said.
"We are seeing so many lives lost, so much damage while we're suffering here at home. We need leadership that will end the military industrial complex, end endless war, and finally invest in the American people," Booker said.
