Two rivals for House spar over Pelosi talk

CONWAY — Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman appeared most at odds over a single issue with his Democratic challenger, Hayden Shamel, as the pair debated for the first and only time Monday.

They could not agree on who was behind much of Shamel’s platform.

After listening to his opponent say why she — and not Westerman — should represent the 4th Congressional District, which covers most of south and western Arkansas, Westerman began to pick apart her plan, which he suggested was being directed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

Shamel, a teacher from Hot Springs, was having none of it.

“I’m not Nancy Pelosi,” Shamel said. “I don’t intend to vote for Nancy Pelosi as [House] leadership.”

The debate Monday got off to a late start after the Libertarian candidate, Tom Canada, failed to show up at the set at the University of Central Arkansas, sending staff for the Arkansas Educational Television Network scrambling to find out where he was.

It was announced shortly after the debate’s scheduled start time that Canada had declined to participate.

Once the debate got underway, Westerman, also of Hot Springs, invoked Pelosi repeatedly when rebutting Shamel’s ideas.

“My opponent wants to distance herself from Nancy Pelosi,” Westerman said, before accusing Shamel of writing a fundraising pitch to Democrats in Congress, including Pelosi. “She apparently got their advice because she’s really good at using their talking points.”

On some policy issues, however, the candidates seemed closer in agreement.

Both, for instance, responded to a question about school shootings by calling for armed security officers to be stationed inside school buildings.

Shamel accused Westerman of stoking “partisan divide” by comparing her to Pelosi.

“Even bringing that up speaks to that deep, deep divide we have in our country right now,” Shamel said.

Shamel laid out three policy positions that she said formed the basis of her campaign: lowering the costs of prescription drugs, expanding resources for education and raising the minimum wage.

By focusing on prescription drugs, the congressman said, Shamel was only addressing one part of health care access.

“If we can get a bill that covers more people and costs less money, I think that could get broad, acrossthe-aisle support,” Westerman said. Democrats, he said, had stifled those efforts.

“Democrats in Congress are part of the resistance, and they continue to want to be part of the resistance,” Westerman said. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to keep working to make America better and we can’t do that if Nancy Pelosi is sitting in the speaker’s chair being a resister.”

Westerman said he was against the Issue 5 ballot proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage to $11 per hour, saying job seekers are already “in the driver’s seat” with the growing economy.

“I’m not for a mandatory minimum wage or a higher minimum wage,” Westerman said.

The issue of the minimum wage “could not show more of a contrast between me and my opponent,” Shamel said. She said she supports Issue 5.

Monday’s debate, filmed by AETN, originally aired Monday night. It will be rebroadcast Sunday, Oct. 21, and is available to watch online.

No more debates are scheduled between Shamel and Westerman before the Nov. 6 general election.