The first and only forum between Democrat Juliana Stratton and Republican Don Tracy for the U.S. Senate in Illinois was held Tuesday evening.
Both candidates are vying for the seat to replace Dick Durbin, who announced his retirement from the position last year after nearly 30 years in the Senate.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Stratton and Tracy weighed in on topics from Iran to clean energy to the differing needs of northern and southern Illinois.
The candidates are coming from opposite sides, with Tracy self-funding his campaign, while Stratton is largely funded by the Pritzker family. Tracy is seen as the underdog by 13-17 points according to the latest poll.
Pat Brady, former head of the Republican Party in Illinois and currently with Mercury Public Affairs, shares what he believes Tracy needs to do to flip the script.
"I think Don actually helped articulate the conservative viewpoint in most instances or what the Republicans have historically and traditionally stood for. So I think he did a nice job presenting that. It was a nice contrast to Lt. Gov. Stratton, who is a gifted debater. She's very talented. She's very fluent in the way she or fluid, the way she delivers her message, but there was a contrast there which was nice to see."
The candidates spoke on the subject of affordability, a top issue in almost every race for the midterms.
Stratton says he wants to pass Medicare for everyone.
"It's important that everyone who wants to see a doctor can see a doctor. One of the biggest examples of how things are unaffordable is health care. And we have people in Illinois right now choosing between going to the doctor and paying their rent. That's a false choice. We need to make it more affordable and accessible, and that's what I'll do when I get to the Senate," she said.
"Medicare for all is a proposal to take one of the best health care systems in the world, maybe even the best, ditch it in favor in place of government health care at a cost of estimated of $30-50 trillion," Tracy responded.
Brady says the Medicare for all approach won't cut costs for anyone.
"She's mixing up costs with accessibility and the history of Democrats leading with sweeping changes in our health care system. In ' 94, it cost them 43 seats in the House, and in 2010, 63. It's a bad issue because Americans, I don't think, are quite ready for that. And Don, I think, was effective on pointing out how much it was going to cost."
During the debate, Tracy alleged Stratton is a democratic socialist, even tho she doesn't claim to be one, while she pointed out Tracy would welcome an endorsement from President Trump.
For the farmers and the consumers of Illinois, Mr. Trump's tariffs were a focal point of the forum — with the candidates giving two very different answers on the topic.
"I think the jury is still out on tariffs and there's a lot of different types of tariffs — there's blanket tariffs, there's reciprocal tariffs. It takes a while for the results of that to happen," Tracy said. "About half the manufacturers say tariffs are helping them reshore jobs and work back the United States. The others are saying they cost them more money. That's why I say the jury is still out on tariffs"
"The jury is not still out. The Supreme Court has ruled that these tariffs are illegal. That is not the jury still being out, and with these illegal tariffs, refunds are owed, but guess who is getting them? Is it you, the people of Illinois? No. They are going to big corporations like Amazon," Stratton said.
Brady says defending tariffs placed Tracy in a difficult spot.
"The Federal Reserve said just a couple of months ago, they've added substantially to inflation in this country. And I think that's just something the hard, difficult spot he was in. He's got to defend some of Trump's positions that are kind of indefensible."
With two weeks to go and the balance of power on the line, Brady says Election Day could be a rough night for Republicans.
"I think it's going to be a rough night for republicans. But you know what? There's a lot of chatter about whether or not these polls are completely accurate. So, I'm not quite sure yet."
