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Campaign archive · 2018 campaign

October 2018: What the Davis-Watkins debates revealed

This post linked to a Topeka Capital-Journal story on the differences between Davis and Watkins. Its attachments date it to early October 2018. The Capital-Journal story could not be retrieved; this note covers all three October meetings from other outlets' reporting.

Original address
/2018/10/topeka-capital-journal-davis-watkins-debate-reveals-differences
Date of the original item
October 2018
Status
Archive note written by the Public Record editors. The campaign's original text is not reproduced.

Three meetings

Date Setting Main topics
Oct. 3, 2018 Farm Bureau and chamber forum, Independence Immigration, Social Security, the federal budget
Oct. 18, 2018 WIBW-TV studio forum, Topeka Health care, tariffs, outside money, backgrounds
Oct. 22, 2018 KTWU-TV debate, Topeka (with Libertarian Kelly Standley) Medicare and Social Security, taxes, truthfulness, partisanship

Where they disagreed

  • Health care. Davis: keep what works in the Affordable Care Act, such as coverage for young adults on a parent's plan, and fix costs. Watkins: repeal the ACA and build on "a platform of free market"; he warned "Medicare for All" would add about $32 trillion to the debt.
  • Social Security and Medicare. Davis pledged no benefit cuts and said Watkins was open to privatization and means testing. Watkins said the system was broken and future benefits would have to shrink.
  • Immigration. Watkins: a border wall, no sanctuary cities, no chain migration. Davis: a path to citizenship for immigrants who work, pay taxes and learn English.
  • Taxes. Watkins said Davis "likes tax hikes, abortions and higher spending." Davis tied rising deficits to the 2017 tax law.
  • Pelosi and outside money. Watkins: "What is Nancy Pelosi getting for her $4 million?" Davis repeated that he would not support Pelosi and said party-aligned groups back their own candidates.
  • Trust. Davis cited reporting and a Capital-Journal editorial questioning Watkins's account of his biography. Watkins called the allegations "at very best a half-truth" and said Davis was lying about his record.

Where they agreed

Both criticized the tariffs' effect on Kansas farmers, Watkins from free-trade principle and Davis as harm the president should undo.

How it turned out

Polls stayed within the margin of error to the end. Watkins won by 2,239 votes.

Sources

  1. Lawrence Journal-World: 2nd District forum: Davis, Watkins clash on immigration, Social Security (Oct. 4, 2018)
  2. WIBW: Davis, Watkins clash during WIBW-TV forum (Oct. 18, 2018)
  3. Lawrence Journal-World: 2nd District candidates clash during televised debate (Oct. 22, 2018)
  4. KCUR: Perhaps the closest, roughest U.S. House race in Kansas goes down to the wire (Oct. 30, 2018)

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