U.S. Senate candidates in New York clash in the only debate before the general election

The only debate between the candidates in New York’s U.S. Senate race was moderated by Spectrum News at the University at Albany on Wednesday evening. Incumbent Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican challenger Mike Sapraicone agreed at times during the heated debate.

Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to her position in 2009 and won six-year terms in 2012 and 2018. Sapraicone is a retired New York City police detective who went on to start a security services company.

One of their longest arguments occurred over abortion rights. The candidates were asked about New York’s Proposition 1, the Equal Rights Amendment, which would prohibit unequal treatment and protect the autonomy of reproductive health care. Gillibrand said she plans to vote for it.

“I believe in equality. I believe that women in this country deserve equal rights. We deserve bodily autonomy. We deserve the right to decide when we have children and under what circumstances we have children,” emphasizes Gillibrand. “And an Equal Rights Amendment in New York will guarantee equality for all.”

Moderator Susan Arbetter addresses the Republican challenger: “Mr. Sapraicone?”

“I will vote no,” he says. “I mean, what the senator is saying we should all agree with, but that’s not what this amendment is for, that’s not what this proposal is for. And the point is that you let an 8-year-old decide whether he has the right to change his identity from male to female or female to male. They won’t involve the parents. It’s not about abortion. We have the most comprehensive abortion law in the country in over 50 years. This proposal does not change the way abortion occurs. It just takes away parents’ rights.”

Gillibrand: “You’re absolutely wrong.”

During a discussion about immigration reform, the two candidates clashed over a bipartisan border bill that lost House support. Gillibrand criticized former President Donald Trump for influencing the vote, while Sapraicone, who was endorsed by Trump, questioned why Democrats failed to pass the measure.

“The bipartisan bill that should have been supported, but President Trump derailed it for political reasons. He said don’t vote for this bill, I want it to be a campaign issue,” Gillibrand said.

“The Democrats have the majority in the Senate. You have been a senator for 15 years. Why couldn’t you even introduce this bill to the Senate so that it would have been passed in the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives?” asks Sapraicone. “How can this fail?”

“Because Donald Trump told the House of Representatives not to vote for this bill. “If you vote for this bill, it will hurt my chances of winning the presidency, and it’s more important to me than solving New York’s problems,” Gillibrand claims. “So my question to you is: How is it that the five new Republican House members as House Majority Leaders have done nothing to demand that Speaker Johnson bring up this bill? And when we voted on it, Democrats voted for this common sense reform.”

“Not in the Senate, they weren’t,” challenges Sapraicone.

“Yes, we have,” assures Gillibrand.

“They didn’t vote for it. It never came to the ground,” emphasizes Sapraicone.

“We voted for it. “I’m a senator, you’re not,” Gillibrand replied.

“Right…” begins Sapraicone.

“I was there. We voted for it,” says Gillibrand.

“You’re a senator and I’m not, but that could change in two weeks,” argues Sapraicone.

“You’re wrong,” Gillibrand replies.

The Farm Bill, which includes provisions to fund agricultural and food nutrition programs, needs reauthorization. Sapraicone believes that SNAP, or the food stamp program, should be reevaluated, leading Gillibrand to defend the current version of the program.

“I don’t think it’s the best program out there. “I think we could re-evaluate the SNAP program and look at it from a different perspective,” says Sapraicone. “But I certainly think a lot of the things we do are wasteful, and I think that needs to be reevaluated.”

“SNAP is not a wasteful program,” Gillibrand emphasizes. “It is one of the most effective programs available to eliminate hunger insecurity. For each…”

“But I didn’t do it, excuse me, I didn’t say we should abolish it,” Sapraicone interrupts.

“I know, but you said…” Gillibrand continues.

“What I said is that we should reassess it and how we deal with it,” defends Sapraicone.

“Yes, but you said it was misused and that, again, is a false claim,” Gillibrand claims. “That is not true. We must expand SNAP benefits and make them more robust. Republicans want to cut SNAP funding.”

“No, I don’t think Republicans want to cut it,” Sapraicone said. “I think they might want to improve it or work on it a little bit better.”

“No, they want to make it,” Gillibrand murmurs.

“And in everything we do, there is always room for improvement,” emphasizes Sapraicone.

While the two candidates argued over a number of issues, there were some issues on which they agreed. As reports suggested that Israel might retaliate against Iran, the duo expressed their support for Israel.

“We should support Israel as much as possible. They are our closest ally in the Middle East and Israel is waging a war not only for Israel, but also for us,” emphasizes Sapraicone. “Who will be next about what’s going on with Iran?” We must stand with Israel. We must support them in every way possible and not micromanage them.”

“I support Israel’s right to defend itself,” Gillibrand agrees. “Israel is a very small country in the middle of a very rough neighborhood. It receives missiles from Iran, Lebanon and Gaza. If Israel decides that it needs to target some of Iran’s infrastructure for nuclear weapons, for missile production, or for cyberattacks, then it is absolutely within its right to do so, because it has already been attacked. And we will support Israel in defending itself.”

Early voting in New York state begins Saturday.