Jordan vs. Freshour
4th district candidates debate in St. Marys
Fourth district Congressional candidates Jim Jordan and Shannon Freshour faced off at the St. Marys Rotary on Tuesday afternoon in a debate moderated by club member Randy Elsass.
Before the debate started Freshour had asked Jim Jordan to reschedule the debate as she had not yet received the results of a COVID- 19 test. Jordan declined. Freshour remained masked during the debate while Jordan removed his.
Fresher opened with saying Ohio was in a bad place with job situations and food insecurity, which she experienced first hand. She said her mom had been on welfare and was able to get job training through the state.
One of the reasons Freshour said she opted to run for office was she had had enough partisanship.
For Jordan the fundamental question was can America remain America?
He was concerned about defunding the police and the “Cancel Culture.”
On a question about the review of Social Security benefits, Jordan said, “It’s your money. This is a sacred promise the government
has made with its citizens. We have to make sure we preserve and protect it.”
He said he would not support any reduction of benefits.
Freshour called Jordan a liar. She said by supporting the president’s budget he was supporting billions in cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
She said that the Social Security trust fund would soon go bankrupt.
“We need to elect people who will protect Social Security,” she said.
On a question about the census, Freshour said it was about counting Americans and the census should be kept out of politicians hands.
Jordan asked why Democrats don’t want to know how many citizens are in the country. He speculated it was because it affects the number of representatives in Congress and said California would lose about six to seven seats in Congress.
When candidates were asked whether they were pro- life or pro- choice, Jordan quoted the brother of George Floyd in saying that all life is precious.
“We should protect the unborn,” he said, adding he planned to direct tax dollars accordingly.
Freshour said she was conflicted as a Christian but was still pro- choice.
“I don’t have the right to make a decision a woman needs to make with her doctor,” Freshour said.
She said an issue was defunding the Affordable Care Act, which provides access to prenatal care.
On a question about whether the Ohio governor had abused his power,
Fresher pointed out-several members of the White House are in quarantine.
“We need to ensure that people are safe,” she said.
She agreed with Jordan that life was precious and applied that to the pandemic.
She said they need to ensure a safe environment for businesses to reopen.
Jordan responded by talking about how you can’t go to a loved one’s funeral but you can protest, riot and loot. He discussed the differences between reopening in Florida and New York, with New York seeing more fatalities.
Jordan also said insurance premium costs have not gone down as had been promised since the Affordable Care Act passed.
On the Second Amendment Jordan warned that those who like the second amendment “had better vote Republican.”
Freshour said Republicans have been saying ‘ Democrats were coming to take your guns’ her entire life. She said only for criminals or those with a mental illness would they talk about taking guns away. She said most gun deaths in America were suicides. She said caring about access to guns during a mental health crisis is a prolife stance.
On a question regarding term limits, Freshour said term limits were not helpful and would result in more lobbyists. She said Jordan had previously supported term limits and switched his position.
Jordan said he supports term limits and always has.
On voting Freshour said mail- in ballots were safe, while Jordan maintained it was a method to get extra votes after the election and that envelopes with an unclear postmark would be counted.
Jordan said the pressure on those to support Black Lives Matter was a part of cancel culture.
“Today’s left doesn’t even want you to speak,” Jordan said.
A part of believing that All Lives Matter is believing that Black Lives Matter, Freshour said.
Following the debate, Freshour said health care was a central issue to her campaign and wanted to have Medicare for all.
Jordan maintained it was about whether America can remain America. Both candidates thought the debate went well.