The Republican candidates in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District discussed government spending, border security, abortion and other top issues in the race Friday during WMUR’s Granite State Debate.Polls show that most likely voters in the 1st District Republican primary are undecided, so the debate was a chance for the candidates to win over voters days before they head to the polls Tuesday.>> Re-watch the debate:See the full debate here, or watch it topic by topic:IntroductionsDebate formatGovernment spendingAid for Ukraine and IsraelAbortion issueSupport for TrumpRecent border billHousing pressureThe four candidates are trying to do what no other Republican has been able to do on the statewide level, beat Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas.Hollie Noveletsky is the CEO of Novel Iron Works, a third-generation family business. She served as a nurse in the U.S. Army Reserve and New Hampshire National Guard. She’s a former chair of the government relations committee of the American Institute of Steel Construction.>> See where 1st Congressional District candidates stand on the issuesRussell Prescott also runs a family business. He designs many of the water treatment products made and distributed by the company that his father started. The Seacoast native is a former state senator and executive councilor.Chris Bright’s business experience includes serving as CEO for several companies. Before working in the private sector, the West Point graduate served as an Army engineer officer leading missions in the Balkans. He then earned an MBA from MIT.>> 2024 New Hampshire voter information: How to register, polling placesJoe Kelly Levasseur is a Manchester native and the chairman of the city’s Board of Aldermen. The attorney and former restaurant owner has explicitly tied his congressional campaign to his support for Donald Trump in the presidential race.>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play > Programming note: With debate on WMUR, ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ to air overnightPrescott said his experience working in the State House has given him the skills to balance a government budget.”When you see a deficit like what we had here in New Hampshire, you weigh the needs and the wants, and you make sure you take care of the needs of our state,” he said.Bright said bad fiscal policy at the federal level hurts everyone.”When you have a lot of government overspending, it drives inflation, it causes higher taxes, and every single person here in the Granite State suffers,” he said. Abortion has been a major political issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision. All four candidates agreed that the issue should remain a state concern, not federal.”I think it was a good decision, having it go back to the states,” Bright said. “I would never support a federal ban on abortion.””If it’s a state issue, we cannot vote for it,” Noveletsky said. “I would not vote for any abortion laws at the federal level.”Prescott noted that he has always been an abortion opponent, but he also agreed with leaving the issue at the state level.”I agree that it should stay here in our state and not be a top-down way of dealing with abortion,” he said.Levasseur said there might be a way he could vote for a federal abortion ban, but it would require an unlikely set of circumstances.”If 75% of the Democrats and 75% of the Republicans and the president would agree on a ban, then I would look at that as a potential to solve this issue once and for all,” he said. “But the possibility of the Republicans and the Democrats agreeing on anything at 75% will never happen. So, I will not vote to change anything.”All the candidates said they were supporters of Trump, saying his return to the presidency would be the best way forward for the country.”People don’t like the guy, but I love his policies,” Levasseur said.Bright also said he supports what Trump wants to do.”Do I like Donald Trump’s policies? I do,” Bright said. “I think all of his policies make a ton of sense.”Prescott said that not only should Trump be elected, Republicans should work to gain total control of the federal government.”The way to get out of this, to be able to change the direction, is to have Trump win in November, keep the House of Representatives and make sure we get control of the United States Senate,” he said.Noveletsky said Trump would keep the nation secure.”I feel that the strength that he provides nationally and internationally through energy independence, shutting down illegal immigration, and being strong on the international border is the only way that we can move forward,” she said.Voters will head to the polls on Sept. 10.
The Republican candidates in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District discussed government spending, border security, abortion and other top issues in the race Friday during WMUR’s Granite State Debate.
Polls show that most likely voters in the 1st District Republican primary are undecided, so the debate was a chance for the candidates to win over voters days before they head to the polls Tuesday.
>> Re-watch the debate:
See the full debate here, or watch it topic by topic:
The four candidates are trying to do what no other Republican has been able to do on the statewide level, beat Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas.
Hollie Noveletsky is the CEO of Novel Iron Works, a third-generation family business. She served as a nurse in the U.S. Army Reserve and New Hampshire National Guard. She’s a former chair of the government relations committee of the American Institute of Steel Construction.
>> See where 1st Congressional District candidates stand on the issues
Russell Prescott also runs a family business. He designs many of the water treatment products made and distributed by the company that his father started. The Seacoast native is a former state senator and executive councilor.
Chris Bright’s business experience includes serving as CEO for several companies. Before working in the private sector, the West Point graduate served as an Army engineer officer leading missions in the Balkans. He then earned an MBA from MIT.
>> 2024 New Hampshire voter information: How to register, polling places
Joe Kelly Levasseur is a Manchester native and the chairman of the city’s Board of Aldermen. The attorney and former restaurant owner has explicitly tied his congressional campaign to his support for Donald Trump in the presidential race.
>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
The top issue to start the debate was spending in Washington. All the candidates said it is essential to cut federal spending, but each said they would be the best person to take on that task.
“When Trump was in there, he was doing really well. Then COVID came along, and the money really started to flow,” Levasseur said. “You need someone who has a lot of experience dealing with budgets.”
Noveletsky said there are key areas where the budget can be cut.
“There are some spending issues that we can cut right away,” she said. “We start clawing back COVID money. We need to stop spending money on illegal immigration. We need to shut down the border. We need to take care of people here.”
>> Programming note: With debate on WMUR, ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ to air overnight
Prescott said his experience working in the State House has given him the skills to balance a government budget.
“When you see a deficit like what we had here in New Hampshire, you weigh the needs and the wants, and you make sure you take care of the needs of our state,” he said.
Bright said bad fiscal policy at the federal level hurts everyone.
“When you have a lot of government overspending, it drives inflation, it causes higher taxes, and every single person here in the Granite State suffers,” he said.
Abortion has been a major political issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision. All four candidates agreed that the issue should remain a state concern, not federal.
“I think it was a good decision, having it go back to the states,” Bright said. “I would never support a federal ban on abortion.”
“If it’s a state issue, we cannot vote for it,” Noveletsky said. “I would not vote for any abortion laws at the federal level.”
Prescott noted that he has always been an abortion opponent, but he also agreed with leaving the issue at the state level.
“I agree that it should stay here in our state and not be a top-down way of dealing with abortion,” he said.
Levasseur said there might be a way he could vote for a federal abortion ban, but it would require an unlikely set of circumstances.
“If 75% of the Democrats and 75% of the Republicans and the president would agree on a ban, then I would look at that as a potential to solve this issue once and for all,” he said. “But the possibility of the Republicans and the Democrats agreeing on anything at 75% will never happen. So, I will not vote to change anything.”
All the candidates said they were supporters of Trump, saying his return to the presidency would be the best way forward for the country.
“People don’t like the guy, but I love his policies,” Levasseur said.
Bright also said he supports what Trump wants to do.
“Do I like Donald Trump’s policies? I do,” Bright said. “I think all of his policies make a ton of sense.”
Prescott said that not only should Trump be elected, Republicans should work to gain total control of the federal government.
“The way to get out of this, to be able to change the direction, is to have Trump win in November, keep the House of Representatives and make sure we get control of the United States Senate,” he said.
Noveletsky said Trump would keep the nation secure.
“I feel that the strength that he provides nationally and internationally through energy independence, shutting down illegal immigration, and being strong on the international border is the only way that we can move forward,” she said.
Voters will head to the polls on Sept. 10.
This article was originally published by a www.wmur.com . Read the Original article here. .