Watch and Recap: IPTV 2018 Iowa 3rd Congressional District Debate

Congressman David Young (R-Iowa) and his Democratic challenger Cindy Axne meet for the second debate in the Iowa 3rd Congressional District race hosted by Iowa Public Television. The debate will start at 7:00p (CST) on 10/11/18. Updates will appear at the top (below this paragraph). Be sure to refresh your browser for updates.

8:05p: You can watch the debate below.

7:59p – The debate is over. I call it a toss-up. I don’t think this is going to change anyone’s mind. Young made some statements that will give his base heartburn. Axne is probably doing a better job appealing to her base. Independents? Did they watch? Who knows? I can’t look at this debate and say there was a clear winner. 

7:58p – Axne says we need economic opportunity. Young says we can’t go backwards as Axne wants to get rid of tax cuts.

7:55p – Young says the Mueller investigation needs to keep going, but at some point, it needs to end. 

7:54p – Axne does not have an answer about Trump impeachment. 

7:54p – Axne says we have an opportunity in solar… Sure if you live in Arizona, etc. If it was really an opportunity then the free market would accept it.

7:53p – Young happy about E15, and says ethanol industry is ready for the tax credit to go away. 

7:52p – Young re. fundraising: accept legally, solicit legally, and no quid pro quo. Pharmaceutical companies are probably not happy with some of the bills he has supported, Young said.

7:50p – I thought that there would be some agreement on the opioid crisis, Axne found a line of attack. 

7:47p – Young punts on whether gender identity should be added to the Civil Rights Act. Says we should treat them with dignity. Axne is all for it. Re. serving in the military, Young says if you pass the tests and meet the requirements all should be able to serve. Axne against what President Trump did re. transgender persons serving. 

7:46p – Young says we need to listen to military leaders, but we’ve been there a long time. It’s a slow process. Need to make sure Afghanis are ready. 

7:45p – Axne says it is time to get out of Afghanistan.

7:44p – Axne supports universal background checks. She wants to close the imaginary gun show loophole. She wants to prevent mentally ill from having guns (due process)? 

7:43p – Axne, the 2nd Amendment is not for hunting, just an FYI.

7:42p – Re. guns: Young says he is in favor of getting rid of bump stocks. He wants to fix the background check system, plugging holes. He has supported school safety bills, and community mental health bills.

7:41p – Axne doesn’t have a specific plan to pay for infrastructure. 

7:40p – Young says no on raising fed gas tax. 

7:38p – Fed involvement with broadband expansion gives me heartburn. 

7:36p – Axne says she helped bring the wind industry to Iowa. Ok, the wind industry actually credits Senator Grassley for that. 

7:35p – Young says WOTUS bad, Axne says WOTUS is good.

7:34p – Axne is against incentivizing work within SNAP. If they are working then it shouldn’t be a problem. If they are disabled, there can be a waiver. That is insane. 

7:33p – Axne says not paying the Farm Bill is the straw that broke the farmers back. What? 

7:32p – Young says it is not a bad idea to incentivize work, discussing food stamps and other welfare.

7:32p – Young says put up a wall where we need it, but doesn’t support one across the entire border. Fences where we need it, Border Patrol on horseback, fences where they are needed, etc. Axne highlighted electronic monitoring, drones, etc. 

7:31p – The disastrous GOP tax bill which benefits Axne’s business. Sorry, that just rings hollow. 

7:30p – Axne is against the wall. 

7:29p – Axne says trade deals include a fair labor agreement… Got to look out for the unions. 

7:27p – Hey Cindy Axne, Congressman Young has criticized Trump on the tariffs. 

7:27p – Young says we need to tie the USMCA knot. Need to work and have a concerted effort to isolate China. 

7:26p – Any entitlement spending reform will need a bipartisan solution.

7:25p – Young says going back to the rates the way they were is a tax hike. Yep.

7:23p – Still waiting to hear where Axne will cut? You aren’t going to balance the budget by just eliminating waste. She points out rich and corporations pay their fair share. The rich pays the lions share of taxes, that is an insane statement.

7:22p – Young says you need to take an axe and scalpel to the budget, but start with balanced budget amendment. Need to address mandatory spending with is 80 percent of the federal budget.

7:20p – Young says tax cuts will pay for themselves. Yepsen brings up a good point about no one talking about the debt. Young points out his support of a balanced budget amendment. 

7:19p – Young reminds that she benefits from the GOP tax bills. Axne does not know what she’s talking about with small businesses paying more. Lie… Lie… Lie… Lie… 

7:18p – For somebody who says she is independent, Axne sure spouts typical Democrat talking points.

7:17p – Axne says the tax bill is a wash, hey doubling the standard deduction is not a small thing.

7:16p – “Cindy Taxme” LOL

7:15p – Axne does not answer question whether she would vote for Pelosi for Speaker (if Dems win majority).

7:14p – Axne says that she agrees with Pelosi on most things is false. Well, there’s a fact check item.

7:14p – So how does Axne differ from Pelosi? Are they going to ask that as a follow-up? 

7:13p – Young: I’ve been there to protect pre-existing conditions.

7:12p – Axne doesn’t seem to understand that Young campaigned on repealing Obamacare. Of course, he voted to repeal it, that’s what voters wanted.

7:11p – Young says he disagrees with Trump on tariffs, short-term insurance plans, etc.

7:10p – Young says a vote for him is a vote for the Third District. Trying to hang President Trump on Young. 

7:09p – Young says it is important to give states flexibility. He also says there needs to be transparency with costs. He points out the uncertainty with Obamacare that has hurt the individual market.

7:08p – Axne wants to “shore up” the Affordable Care Act. 

7:07p – Live blogging with my dog is going to be challenging. 

7:06p – Young did not want to criticize Farm Bureau plan done at the state level. He said he would work on the issue at the federal level. 

7:05p – Young says that he supported a resolution instead of a law because they are already protected by law. 

7:04p – Axne says Young hurts Iowans with his vote.

7:04p – Axne says it’s time to send someone to Washington who will look out for Iowans. How has Young not done that? 

7:03p – Why re-elect Young? He says he is solutions-oriented and he has delivered.

7:02p – No cheering allowed. Erin Murphy and Kay Henderson are co-moderators. 

7:02p – David Yepsen is the moderator. 

7:01p – It’s just starting.