Harrisburg, Pa. ( Associated Press) — The first live-television prime-time debate between the leading candidates for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat on Thursday night highlighted differences between rivals, as they saw opportunities to attack each other. Confiscated.
Perhaps the longest and fastest exchange came over a question about a 2013 incident, when shotgun in hand, John Fetterman, confronted someone he believed to be involved with gunfire on a nearby street in Braddock. where Fetterman was mayor.
It was, to a large extent, a retaliation for Fetterman’s earlier criticism, set up by state Representative Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia and U.S. Representative Conor Lamb of suburban Pittsburgh—but not with Fetterman standing a few feet apart between them.
The debate also highlighted differences over whether they would vote to suspend the federal gas tax amid skyrocketing gas prices.
On energy, the debate clearly made a long-lasting difference. Kenyatta will end new natural gas drilling leases in an effort to crack down on planet-warming greenhouse gases. However, Fetterman and Lamb argue that natural gas is the fuel the country’s economy needs right now.
At several points the candidates sought to portray each other as flip-floppers or hypocrites.
The race in the major presidential battlefield is perhaps the best opportunity for the Democratic Party to take a seat in the closely divided Senate.
Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, Kenyatta and Lamb appeared at WHTM-TV’s studio in Harrisburg for an hour-long debate.
The main election is on May 17.
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