The U.S. Senate debate was filled with statements by both candidates about their pasts and the records of each other. But were they truthful?
Democrat Mark Kelly accused Republican Martha McSally of voting multiple times in Congress to end the legal protection for people with preexisting conditions.
In July, PolitiFact found that while in the U.S. House, McSally did vote for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. That law is the only one on the books protecting people with preexisting conditions.
During the debate, McSally said she has voted for other legislation that would protect people with preexisting conditions. In 2017, she backed a bill that did prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that the bill could have caused those same people to pay higher insurance premiums.
On the campaign trail, in TV ads, and in the debate, McSally has accused Kelly of ties to the government of China. One of the accusations is that World View, a company he helped found, took money from a Chinese company called Tencent, which has ties to the government.
Neither World View, nor Kelly, have denied that they took venture capital money from the company. Media reports confirm that and the fact that WorldView has received venture capital from a number of companies.
The Arizona Daily Mirror reported that McSally’s financial disclosure forms indicate that mutual funds she has shares in have investments in Tencent. Her campaign says those funds have been sold.
During the debate Kelly was challenged on whether or not he supports an end to the filibuster in the Senate.
Kelly said he would have to study the issue and did not give a yes or no answer. Some believe that is a dodge and Kelly should have an answer to that question. It is important because if the filibuster is removed from the Senate rules it means the majority party can do whatever it wants.
The filibuster is a way for a single senator, usually in the minority, to stop progress on a bill until 60 members, more than half the Senate, vote to end the filibuster.
The question of gun control was also raised during the debate. Kelly accused McSally of not supporting red flag laws.
Red flag laws allow a person’s guns to be temporarily seized if a court finds the person is a danger to themself or others.
In August 2019, McSally told the Arizona Republic she was “open” to solutions to prevent gun violence.
In 2015, she backed legislation that would have tied gun registration and mental health. The bipartisan bill reauthorized the federal background check for gun purchases and required states to upload data about mental health records to that system.
The bill had the backing of the NRA and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
When Gov. Doug Ducey proposed a red flag law, McSally said the federal government could incentivize states to pass similar proposals.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.