The clash between Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and Republican challenger Prasanth Reddy intensified during a debate Thursday — their only scheduled meeting before Election Day — with the two particularly trading jabs over abortion.
Reddy claimed early on in the nearly hour-long debate, which was livestreamed by Kansas City PBS, that some pro-Davids ads about him were “essentially lies,” and “misinformation.”
After Davids mentioned Reddy had been endorsed by anti-abortion group Kansans For Life, Reddy countered that “Kansans For Life did not endorse me, so let me correct the record.”
However, Reddy’s name does appear on the Kansans for Life Political Action Committee endorsement list. The Post reached out to Reddy through his campaign Facebook and website for further comment, and he has not yet responded.
The debate, which will air in full on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Kansas City PBS, was also co-hosted by the Johnson County Post and KCUR 89.3.
Watch the full debate
A sharp exchange on abortion
Reddy was asked whether he would decline to vote on national abortion legislation, since he’s said the issue should be up to the states.
He answered, “I am not for a national abortion ban. I’m saying it directly to the folks who are watching this show.” He added that he is for exceptions but would not agree to using federal dollars to fund abortion.
“It’s sad that we’re dealing with misinformation in this election,” he added.
Davids countered that Reddy has said “he wants state-level politicians inserted into this process. I am telling everyone right now, I don’t think any politician should be involved in this process. Not at the state level or federal level.”
She said the statewide vote in Kansas in 2022 to keep abortion protected by the Kansas Constitution indicates that the people don’t want extreme positions.
“My opponent has, frankly, made himself untrustworthy on this, by accepting the endorsement of Kansans for Life who want a national abortion ban and who pushed that constitutional amendment, ” she said. She urged listeners to look up Reddy’s endorsement for themselves.
Both portray themselves as bipartisan
Abortion policy was one of about a dozen questions in the rapid-fire hour-long debate, which was co-moderated by Kansas City PBS’s Nick Haines, the Johnson County Post’s Kyle Palmer and KCUR’s Lisa Rodriguez.
Reddy and Davids also sparred on reining in inflation, Supreme Court term limits, student debt and how to address climate change.
For the most part, Davids tried to portray Reddy as a candidate aligned with the extreme branch of the Republican Party while presenting herself as someone who pushed back against some Democratic initiatives and worked across the aisle. She name-dropped U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and outgoing U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, both Republicans, as people she’s found common ground with.
On issues like tax policy, Davids said, “At the end of the day, the thing that’s not going to get us there is aligning with the most extreme people in our Congress, getting the support of the most extreme people in Congress who would rather shut the government down than actually solve problems.”
Reddy, who immigrated to the United States from India as a child, referenced his background as a cancer doctor, a Harvard business school graduate, and an immigrant while saying he also would work across the aisle.
He tried to portray Davids, who is running for her fourth term, as ineffective in bringing about change on border policy and other challenges during her time in office.
He also called out Davids for lack of progress on issues like the cost of higher education.
“You’ve had six years to bend that needle” and costs have “continued to explode,” he said.
On immigration
Reddy faulted Davids for not supporting the Republican-backed border bill known as H.R. 2 that would have drastically tightened rules for claiming asylum and rolled back protection for migrant children, among other things.
That bill passed the GOP-controlled House last year but got no Democratic support.
“There was nothing in that bill that was a bad thing,” Reddy said, pointing out that it would have provided more resources for law enforcement and building a wall at the southern border.
Davids said the bill was filled with partisan gamesmanship. She added she was disappointed that a different immigration bill that had bipartisan support died after former President Donald Trump disapproved of it.
“I was disappointed to see my opponent fall into lockstep with [Trump] on that because that was our first real opportunity to actually address this issue and it was killed for purely political purposes,” Davids said.
On taxes
Reddy said every department should be scrutinized for possible spending cuts, including the Defense Department.
Davids said she supports the child tax credit to support families and a research and development tax credit for small businesses.
On the cost of college
Davids, who said she is still paying off college loans herself, said she pushed back on the Biden proposal to forgive student debt. The government could help by expanding Pell grants and aid for students in trade schools as well as universities, she said.
Reddy echoed her sentiments that college costs are far too high and suggested the government focus on getting money into educational programs. He also disliked the idea of forgiving student debt.
On health care
The candidates sparred over their approaches to keeping health care costs down.
Davids called out Reddy, saying he has not agreed to divest from pharmacy stocks. She also quoted him as saying negotiation of prescription drugs for Medicare, which she supported, was “unconscionable.” Davids said progress has been made in stabilizing the price of insulin and surprise medical billing.
Reddy said he would be against an extended patent life for insulin and is “100% for” negotiation on generic drugs.
On Supreme Court term limits
Davids said ethics and transparency provisions need to be beefed up. But “when it comes to making changes to the U.S. Constitution, I would have to see some very specific provisions. At this point I’m not willing to say what I would or wouldn’t do on a constitutional amendment that’s not before the Congress.”
Reddy said that court term limits, “would not be a good idea. The original intent of having the Supreme Court be lifetime appointments was to insure freedom of thought and “not caving to the whims of the mob, if you will.”
Minority rights have been protected because of judicial independence from opinion polls, he pointed out, adding he would favor term limits for every other political office.
On climate change
Reddy answered a question on dealing with climate change with a medical analogy.
“If somebody comes to the emergency room with chest pain it doesn’t mean they’re having a heart attack, but you better rule it out,” he said, adding that a serious and thoughtful approach is needed.
Reddy said he’d look toward energy independence for America as a solution. Wind and solar are a small portion of the country’s energy usage, he said.
“We have to have policies that look at other green energy sources like nuclear, which I’d be very supportive of,” he said.
Davids said she voted for robust climate legislation with a thoughtful transition to green energy. She said she’d support legislation that would support Kansas farmers who produce biodiesel, as well.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
