Sen. Mike Lee, Evan McMullin don't hold back in heated Senate debate - KSL.com

Utah Sen. Mike Lee, left, and Evan McMullin, right, debated Monday nighttime astatine Utah Valley University. (Spenser Heaps and Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

Estimated work time: 6-7 minutes

OREM — Utah Sen. Mike Lee and autarkic challenger Evan McMullin dug astatine each other, particularly erstwhile it came to the Constitution, the Capitol riot and Donald Trump, during a sometimes heated statement Monday nighttime successful the contention for the Senate.

Both candidates relied connected attacks and deflections they person utilized against each different successful quality stories, societal media and tv ads passim the contentious campaign, but this clip they were look to look — for the archetypal and lone clip this predetermination — astatine Utah Valley University. The contention is 1 of the astir competitory statewide contests Utah has seen successful years.

McMullin pounded connected Lee implicit his White House substance messages pursuing the 2020 statesmanlike election, saying his "egregious" effort to find fake electors to support Trump successful bureau volition beryllium his legacy. Lee sharply disagreed with McMullin's characterization. He said determination wasn't a "scintilla" of grounds to enactment the assertion and demanded an apology.

Lee often turned to look astatine McMullin with a grin that the challenger called a "smirk" astatine 1 constituent during the hourlong statement sponsored by the Utah Debate Commission. In different moment, Lee pulled retired his pouch Constitution, arsenic helium is known to do. McMullin said Lee uses the papers arsenic a prop. Lee said helium uses it arsenic a acceptable notation that his colleagues successful Congress besides appreciate.

The decidedly pro-Lee assemblage applauded Lee a mates of times during the statement and booed McMullin once, prompting moderator Doug Wright to inquire for quiet.

The speech brought retired the differences successful however Lee and McMullin would attack the occupation successful Washington.

Lee said helium would proceed to ballot nary connected authorities helium finds atrocious for Utah and the country. Utah, helium said, needs to elite a Republican to assistance the enactment instrumentality power of the Senate to antagonistic President Joe Biden's progressive policies and runaway spending. McMullin, helium said, voted for Biden and the Democratic Party is his "adopted" governmental party.

McMullin said arsenic an independent, helium would enactment with Democrats and Republicans to find solutions successful the vein of Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney. He said his ballot would beryllium invaluable successful the Senate due to the fact that helium belongs to neither party. McMullin accused Lee of being beholden to enactment bosses and peculiar interests.

McMullin said helium would not beryllium a "bootlicker" for Trump oregon Biden. Lee said helium called retired Trump "all the time," particularly connected spending bills.

The candidates covered a wide scope of issues during the debate. Here are immoderate of them:

Abortion

Since the U.S. Supreme Court returned the determination astir termination to the states, McMullin said helium wants to find a constructive mode forward. He said he's pro-life and opposes the utmost laws connected some sides of the issue: Those allowing late-term abortions and those that would prohibition termination without exceptions. He said helium favors making much contraception disposable and doing much to enactment women, children and families to little the termination complaint successful the country.

Lee said Roe v. Wade was a "legal fabrication chopped retired of full cloth by the imaginativeness of a fewer Supreme Court justices." He said the authorization to find termination instrumentality was rightfully returned to the states. States, helium said, tin scope the astir statement connected the contented and support the astir babies.

Foreign policy

The U.S. needs to summation its naval fleet and put successful updated intercontinental ballistic rocket systems, Lee said. He besides favors bilateral commercialized agreements with different countries successful Asia to offset China. More escaped trade, helium said, would marque China little belligerent.

"We besides request a Republican offset to a president who's not each there," Lee said, noting Biden has talked precocious astir Armageddon.

McMullin said the U.S. has to fortify its narration with different escaped nations and that commercialized is critical, particularly successful the Pacific Rim. He besides favors investing successful caller technologies.

"We request to elite leaders and representatives of this freedom-loving authorities that volition basal up to overseas dictators and not alteration them," McMullin said

McMullin said Lee is the lone subordinate of the Utah legislature delegation not to beryllium blacklisted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lee replied helium doesn't cognize wherefore Russia hasn't blacklisted him, but "I'd emotion to beryllium blacklisted there," adding that China has banned him for life.

Student loans

Lee said the national authorities needs to get retired of the assemblage indebtedness business. Biden, helium said, has nary powerfulness to forgive pupil debt. The lone crushed the authorities got into pupil loans was due to the fact that Democrats wanted to money Obamacare, helium said. It borrows wealth astatine a little involvement complaint and loans it retired astatine a higher involvement rating, "milking American students each implicit the country," Lee said. Student loans, helium said, request to instrumentality to the backstage sector.

McMullin said the national authorities has played a "tragic" relation successful elevating the outgo of college, which is present retired of scope for galore Americans, including the mediate class. He said helium disagrees with Lee that the national authorities should beryllium retired of pupil loans but it has to beryllium much careful. He favors indebtedness forgiveness for nationalist work workers specified arsenic teachers, constabulary officers and members of the military.

Inflation

McMullin said some governmental parties are to blasted for inflation. "Where was Sen. Lee erstwhile President Trump was spending recklessly successful an expansionary period?" helium said. McMullin said helium would enactment crossed enactment lines to get spending nether control, alternatively than simply voting no.

Lee said ostentation is the effect of reckless national spending. He said he's been a starring hostile of excessive spending during his tenure successful the Senate. Democrats, with power of Congress and the White House, person ratcheted it up to a full caller level, helium said.

"We thought it was excessively overmuch cowbell before. They gave it 10 times the cowbell," helium said.

Campaign ads

Other than an advertisement pointing retired that McMullin voted for Biden, Lee said his ads person been astir himself. McMullin, helium said, has "refused" to speech astir ideas, but is asking voters to enactment "blind trust" successful him.

"I speech astir my ideas successful my ads. I would suggest you bash the same," Lee said.

Ads from extracurricular groups, helium said, don't usage the aforesaid messaging helium uses. "Yours are onslaught hits, deed pieces each azygous 1 of them."

McMullin said a "far-right group" that Lee is beholden to ran an advertisement that doctored his words to marque it accidental thing that helium didn't, referring to a Club for Growth ad.

"Sen. Lee, wherefore can't you condemn that? Do you request the lies?" McMullin said.

McMullin said the ads connected his broadside person been "quite fair" successful talking astir Lee's votes successful the Senate.

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