Cheers and jeers at Russell-Horn debate
Thirteen days before voters go to the polls and decide between them, U.S. Rep. Steve Russell and Democratic challenger Kendra Horn took part in their only scheduled debate Wednesday night before an often rambunctious Oklahoma City crowd.
Sharing a stage for the first time, Russell and Horn debated for more than an hour at City Presbyterian Church, touching on topics that ranged from taxes and the economy to health care and Social Security.
Their answers drew immediate and loud reactions from a standingroom-only crowd of more than 200 people who ignored suggestions from the moderator that they keep cheering to a minimum. One man was removed by a police officer after shouting a question to Russell near the end of the debate.
“One of the problems we have with our economy is we have this growing gap of people who have and people who don’t,” Horn said. “And this tax bill that was passed last year, which Congressman Russell supported, is part of the same type of tax cuts that we saw here under Governor Fallin and this administration, which led to massive cuts to our education system.”
“Equitable distribution,” Russell said, “sounds a lot like taking away the free market. We don’t want to do that,” a response that drew laughter and groans from the crowd. He said the tax cuts had given average Oklahomans more money and a stronger economy.
In another contentious moment, a woman shouted, “Answer the question!” at Russell during a discussion of his party’s handling of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination process. A Russell supporter shouted back, “He did!” and both were threatened with eviction before the crowd cooled.
“You can have mobs or you can have jobs,” Russell said. “You can have resistance or you can have results.”
The congressman, who said Tuesday that he would “stay positive and upbeat” during the debate, rarely mentioned Horn. One exception was while defending the amount of money his campaign has received from political action committees, which Horn often criticizes.
“If people think PACs are evil, maybe they should turn in all of the money. Ms. Horn has accepted nearly $50,000 in PAC money. I don’t fault her for that. That’s not publicized but nevertheless, it’s not been turned back,” Russell said.
Horn responded by saying her campaign has been funded by thousands of Oklahoma donors with the only PAC money coming from labor unions and organizations that represent working Oklahomans. Russell, she said, had received $1 million from corporate lobbyists and special interests and said that has influenced his decisions.
“I should point out that I never got $50,000 in PAC money the very first time that I ran,” Russell said. “But that’s OK, that’s our process. I’m not offended by it. Some people are mean about it, I’m not.”
The candidates did, at times, agree. Both said North Korea’s nuclear proliferation was the greatest foreign policy threat America faces, and they largely agreed on immigration, a core issue for Russell.
“I have not made any statements about privatizing Social Security,” Russell said after Horn indicated the congressman supports privatization. Horn said a couple in Russell’s district received a letter from his congressional office that discussed privatization. “I don’t know if perhaps he’s changed his plans,” she said.
Russell said he was simply informing his constituents about talks of privatization in Washington but there has never been a privatization bill. “Should we not keep you informed about the things government is considering or the things that they’re doing?”
For Horn, who lives in Oklahoma City, the debate offered an opportunity to shorten Russell’s lead as she attempts to ride a Democratic wave to victory in what has, for more than four decades, been a Republican district. She said she would do so by looking beyond rigid partisan lines and focusing on health care and education, the issues that have been cornerstones of her campaign for more than a year.
“I am supportive of the Affordable Care Act,” Horn said of the health care overhaul also known as Obamacare, “because it did critical things, like protect an individual’s access to care, regardless of pre-existing conditions. It protected us from insurance companies for lifetime caps. Fundamentally, to me, health care is a right, it is not a privilege.”
For Russell, who lives in Choctaw, the debate was a chance to cement his lead atop the 5th District race as he attempts to stave off the most difficult general election challenge of his political career and win a third House term in a district that includes most of Oklahoma County and all of Pottawatomie and Seminole counties.
“We have a fabulous country, and we should never put ourselves ahead of that country. I look at this as an extension of service to it and I’ve been serving my country since I was 18,” Russell said.