Senate candidates clash in televised debate

Along with answering questions on the cost of living, energy and immigration policy, Senate candidates Democrat Martin Heinrich and Republican Nella Domenici had a few questions for each other during their only televised debate before the general election in three weeks.

The debate aired at 4:30 p.m., earlier in the day than originally planned, because of Monday Night Football airing this week on KOAT, the ABC affiliate. The candidates are scheduled to debate again on Oct. 27 at Congregation Albert.

Domenici finally confirmed that she plans to vote for former President Donald Trump in November, after Heinrich asked for whom she would vote and how long she'd been registered to vote in the state.

Incumbent Heinrich, meanwhile, answered Domenici's jab, "Are we the leader of the free world?" affirmatively, while not answering her follow-up, "Are we energy independent?" during a question on the oil and gas industry.

At times, the debate led back to the southern border. Domenici argued during a question on school security that more border security is needed to keep guns out of schools. Meanwhile, during a back-and-forth on abortion, Heinrich asked Domenici where her independent mindset was when an immigration bill was killed in Congress earlier this year, after Trump pushed for the bill to be voted down.

Both Democrats and Republicans claimed their candidate won the debate.

"Martin Heinrich spent the entire debate justifying his failed record that has delivered abysmal results for New Mexico families," said Leticia Muñoz, the Republican Party of New Mexico Executive Director, in a statement.

"While Senator Martin Heinrich answered questions directly, with clarity and depth, No-Answer Nella once again evaded critical issues and skirted the truth," said Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesperson Daniel Garcia in a statement.

A recent Albuquerque Journal poll showed Heinrich with a 12-point lead in the race.

Abortion

"This is the most sexist comment you could ever hear from a United States Senator," Domenici said. "I'm a very successful, educated, professional businesswoman, and I will not be told by any senator in Washington what to vote on and how to vote on it."

The comment? Heinrich argued that electing Domenici would be a step closer to a national abortion ban. His reasoning was that if elected, Domenici's first vote on the floor would be for a Republican Senate majority leader, and "every one of those candidates vying to be Republican majority leader have committed publicly and forcefully to a federal abortion ban," Heinrich said.

Domenici said that she would not support a national abortion ban, and that she respected the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision to push regulation of abortion to state governments. She did not directly answer if she would support a national bill to guarantee abortion rights, but reiterated that she wants to spend her energy on making birth control more accessible.

When asked if he supported any restrictions on abortion near the end of a pregnancy, Heinrich said he supports women making their own health care decisions.

Gun control, schools and opioids

"I've had to live through my kids going through active shooter drills ad nauseum or not being able to pick up my kids from school here at APS because they're under lockdown," Heinrich said.

Heinrich said that his Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act would regulate assault weapons in a way that is more defensible in the Supreme Court, and he believes there is growing interest in the bill in the Senate.

Domenici argued that not enough border security is the real culprit behind guns finding their way into schools.

Domenici also blamed Democrats' border policies for the high number of overdose deaths in New Mexico, saying that cheap fentanyl is "pouring in."

Heinrich pointed to legislation he sponsored that passed - the Fend Off Fentanyl Act, to make it easier for law enforcement to stop drug trafficking - and said addressing the opioid crisis will also require continued investment in local law enforcement.

School vouchers

"It's imperative that our parents have options for their students," Domenici said, arguing that the state needs more charter, parochial and magnet schools, in response to a question about school choice vouchers, a program some states use that allows parents to send their children to private school using public school funding.

"I do not support anything that would further defund our public schools," Heinrich said. He thinks that early childhood education is the first step to improving New Mexico's school system, and that the government should also support more community schools and work based education.

Points of agreement

Bipartisanship is the way to get things done in Washington, Domenici and Heinrich agreed. Both candidates said they would be good advocates for New Mexico because they have the right relationships in Washington.

"Most of the big things that I've worked on have required bipartisanship," Heinrich said, pointing to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and gun safety legislation.

Heinrich said that as a senator during Trump's previous time in the Oval Office, he built relationships with officials at the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy to ensure that New Mexico received federal funding. Domenici said that she learned from her father, the late Sen. Pete Domenici, "the importance of bipartisanship. I learned from him that every single bill that he brought up ... began with a bipartisan group of people." She believes that the Domenici name would also serve her well as a senator.

"When I spend time in Washington, I have instant access to many, many of the senior legislators, because my name still carries with it a huge amount of bipartisan respect," Domenici said.

The candidates also agreed that social media companies need to be better regulated for the sake of children's mental health.

Both Domenici and Heinrich said that the state should diversify its energy economy, but seemed to have different ideas about what that means.

Domenici said that the need for energy will continue to grow with population growth and AI technology, and she believes New Mexico should have solar and wind, but also needs "more oil and gas, not less."

"If we are not an energy independent country, we cannot be the leader of the free world," Domenici said.

Heinrich said that the oil and gas industry does not need government subsidies, as evidenced by its current success. But he thinks New Mexico needs to create jobs in clean energy so that when the energy industry changes, the state will be prepared. He pointed to the SunZia Transmission Line, a wind farm with the goal of providing power for millions, as a way that the government is already helping to create new energy jobs.