Debate offered subtle messages
Expert: McSally, Sinema used non-verbal cues
The first and only U.S. Senate debate between Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema gave Arizona voters their first and only chance to see the candidates interact on stage.
Both candidates mostly stuck to the major themes and political messages their campaigns have been heralding throughout the race, from health care to illegal immigration.
But their body language, tone, physical presentation — and, of course, the interplay between them during the unscripted finale — left impressions with voters, too.
McSally and Sinema portrayed themselves as dramatically different, said Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan.
McSally, 52, was aggressive in trying to press her points and alternated between relatable and combative, he said.
Sinema, 42, appeared to deliberately strike a measured tone that bor-
dered on too-controlling and robotic, and, therefore, lacked passion, he said. Her joke about tariffs on aluminum imports affecting the price of beer seemed overly rehearsed, he said.
Kall directs the university’s debate team and has consulted for presidential and gubernatorial candidates on debating. He is the editor and co-author of three books, including “Debating The Donald.”
Here are the moments he said will leave the strongest impressions with voters.
McSally: The ‘It’s treason’ moment
The debate’s most-memorable moment came when McSally took control of the questioning as the event sped toward closing statements, during a question about climate change.
Realizing she would not have time to highlight what she sees as her greatest strength, McSally confronted Sinema over comments she made during a 2003 radio show.
McSally sped up the pace of her speaking and tried to use her final moments to attack.
“We have to talk about our military,” McSally said, her hands waving, her voice rising. “We have to talk about our veterans.”
The moderators allowed her to do so. McSally used the time to deliver a spitfire attack on Sinema’s anti-war days and pink tutu outfit, her 2002 position on closing Luke Air Force Base and the radio show in which Sinema was asked about her view of someone hypothetically joining the Taliban. Sinema told the host, “I don’t care. If you want to do that, go ahead.”
McSally turned her body toward Sinema and waved her hand at her, demanding an apology for the remarks. She glared.
“It’s treason,” McSally said, raising her hands.
Kall said McSally’s tone and body language conveyed frustration with the debate format, the moderators and Sinema’s performance, in which she presented herself as a centrist Democrat who had successfully worked with Republicans while in Congress.
Kall, citing McSally’s yelling over the moderators and her gesturing, said, “In real time, McSally was realizing that this kind of makeover or transformation, or independent streak ... may be working in relating to voters, especially low-information voters who may be tuning in for the first time.”
Kall said it almost appeared as though McSally could not believe what she was witnessing.
“She was trying to connote anger, and almost like a stern lecturing, not just at her opponent, but the moderators,” Kall said. “Like she had information, but it wasn’t breaking through.”
Purple dress, plane necklace Sinema: The ‘It’s treason’ moment
Sinema did not look at McSally during McSally’s “treason” attack.
She smiled before she was asked to respond by a moderator.
Sinema struck a tone similar to that of a parent expressing disappointment in a child: “Martha has chosen to run a campaign like the one you’re seeing right now, where she’s engaging in ridiculous attacks and smearing my campaign. And she’s just trying to cut, cut, cut, and not show the full picture.”
Kall said Sinema’s refusal to look at McSally showed she was not going “to take the bait.”
Sinema’s body language may have sent a cue to voters that she views McSally and her campaign as “a campaign in the gutter, willing to do anything to win.”
Kall compared Sinema’s approach to a boxer: “Just let the bell ring and the time expire.” Sinema, who is running her campaign more as a third-party candidate than a Democrat, opted to wear a purple dress with capped sleeves and an asymmetrical collar.
Kall said Sinema’s selection may have been a metaphor for the changing political leanings of the state, from its past roots as deep-red Republican to more plum-colored and independentleaning.
McSally chose to wear a sleeveless blue dress, a subtle reminder of her own independence from Washington’s more formal dress code. The color, typically associated with Democrats, is the opposite of the red dress she wore during her Aug. 28 primary-election night win.
Around her neck, she wore her signature airplane necklace, symbolic of her time in the U.S. Air Force.
Often, candidates wear jewelry that is significant to their faith, such as a cross.
McSally was the first woman to fly in combat in the U.S. Air Force. Her necklace, which she almost always wears, shows how closely her identity is intertwined with her service.
“It showed the importance of her service to her and what a big part it plays in her biography,” Kall said.
McSally shows personal side
In talking about her own story of sexual abuse as a teenager by a high-school athletic coach, McSally effectively connected with viewers, Kall said.
The moment came during a discussion about the nomination and appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
McSally castigated Democrats for their handling of the claims by Christine Blasey Ford, who said Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades ago when they were teenagers.
Ford’s claim was reported to the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee before it was leaked.
“Look, I’m a survivor of sexual abuse myself,” McSally said. “She clearly had been through a trauma.”
She spoke slower than her usual rapid-fire pace, her tone was calm, and she spoke straight into the camera.
“It was powerful,” Kall said. “Anytime you can personalize issues, a subject, it’s very important.”
Sinema’s demeanor: ‘Nondescript’
Sinema did not break character. While a more boisterous and combative McSally worked to try to force Sinema to answer to McSally’s criticisms, Sinema responded with slow, monotone responses. She smiled into the camera during some of her deliveries and looked more serious on others.
Her subdued responses caught some criticism.
Kall characterized Sinema’s performance as “nondescript.”
He said, “She wasn’t going to ruffle any feathers or make any headlines ... Being that deferential is not great because voters obviously want people to stand up for them and be their voice.”
When Sinema did press a point against McSally, she did so calmly and with restraint, he said, likely to demonstrate control of herself.