October 23, 2020
Five Takeaways from the Cox-Valadao Debate
This week, Democratic Incumbent TJ Cox debated Republican challenger David Valadao on KGET.com. The debate was moderated by KGET TV17’s Jim Scott and KSEE 24’s Alexan Balekian.
Here are 5 takeaways from the debate:
Cox has record to show
“I’ve introduced more bills than [Valadao] did in six years,” Cox said.And it’s true. David Valadao has introduced 22 bills over the course of six years compared to 27 bills in Cox’s first two-year term.In his first term in Congress, Cox listened to his constituents across the Valley, and zeroed in on issues most important to them. He voted for bills to lower the cost of prescription drugs, lower health care premiums, and provide a pathway to legal status for DREAMers.
David Valadao tried to use discredited smears to attack Cox
“It’s the same old tired game that Republicans have to play because they don’t have a record to run on,” Cox said.
Cox, in turn, called out Valadao’s record. “You can’t say you delivered anything for our DREAMers…on water. […] You voted to turn Medicare into a voucher program, to cut Social Security and privatize it…to keep health care away from 20 million Americans, plus 60,000 constituents here in the Valley. How do you defend that?”
Valadao renewed his strong support for Trump, including their shared priority of taking away health care from millions of Americans
Valadao reiterated his strong support for Trump, including standing with him to take away health care from millions of Americans. “When it comes to us in the Central Valley, yes, I’ll stand with [Trump] on what’s right,” Valadao said.
Cox reminded voters that Valadao voted with Trump 99% of the time while in Congress, and asked Valadao to defend his record of siding with the unpopular president. “You and Donald Trump want to turn Medicare into a voucher program,” Cox said. “You and Donald Trump keep trying to keep away health care from 20 million Americans, plus 60,000 constituents here in the Valley. How do you defend that?”
Immigration draws major distinctions: Cox voted with DREAMers, Valadao did not
Cox made clear distinctions between Valadao and himself on delivering for DREAMers. “The most memorable day that I’ve had in Congress was voting ‘yes’ for the Dream and Promise Act,” Cox said. “Valadao couldn’t do it because he voted 21 times to prevent it from coming to the House floor [and] he voted against it when he was in the State Assembly.”
Cox declares his trust in science; Valadao “never been a huge fan” of vaccines
Cox stated early in the debate that he trusts science to lead the Covid response, and that the Trump administration’s political aggrandizement of the issue is what led to the unnecessary rise in infections and deaths in the first place. In response to a question on taking Trump’s Covid-19 vaccine, Cox replied: “I’ll take the vaccine right after Anthony Fauci takes the vaccine,” referring to the leading infectious disease expert on the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
In contrast, David Valadao replied to the same question: “When it comes to vaccines, I’ve never been a huge fan of them.”