Udall, Gardner Clash In Second Debate Of The Week
DENVER (AP) - Democratic Sen. Mark Udall and his Republican challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner, clashed in their second debate in two days Tuesday, trading the same accusations over the Affordable Care Act, women's health and energy that have dominated Colorado's airwaves since Gardner jumped into the race six months ago.
Udall insisted the election was about him and Gardner, and that the congressman's record was too conservative for Colorado.
"He's running against me, not Barack Obama, not my father, not Harry Reid," Udall said, alluding to Gardner's digs at him for being the son of a famous congressman, Mo Udall.
Gardner countered that the decision is really about Obama, and he accused Udall of voting with the president 99 percent of the time. Voters who support the incumbent will "be voting for a person who has only disagreed with the president 1 percent of the time," Gardner said.
Republicans need to net six seats to win control of the Senate, and Colorado's race has long been deadlocked between the two seasoned, well-financed candidates.
They battled over familiar ground Tuesday, with Udall trying to tarnish Gardner on women's rights and appeal to suburban women who have long helped Democrats win in the state. He continued to slam Gardner for once supporting state-level measures to give a fertilized egg the same rights as a person and for continuing to back a similar federal proposal.
Gardner has renounced the state measure and proposed allowing women to get birth control pills without a prescription.
On Tuesday, Gardner said that when the first Udall ad accusing him of opposing contraception aired, "my wife looked at me and smiled and said, 'Didn't you used to pick up my prescription?'"
Gardner accused Udall of missing Senate Armed Services Committee hearings and being too slow to react to the threat posed by the Islamic State, which has taken over parts of Syria and Iraq. Udall said he never missed a vote on the committee and noted that the two men both support Obama's plan to roll back the Islamic extremist group.
"What you're doing here is trying to distract people from your record, and you're forgetting we're all in this together," Udall said.
The two candidates disagreed on gun control, with Gardner saying he supports the Second Amendment absolutely and criticizing Udall for backing universal background checks for private gun purchases. Udall said Gardner was out of step with Colorado voters on the issue.
Both candidates agreed on the need for more mental health care to avoid massacres like the Columbine High School and Aurora movie theater shootings.
On energy, Udall said the Keystone Pipeline should be built, but only if science supports it. He has voted against expediting the project in the Senate. Gardner, meanwhile, refused to give a yes or no answer on whether humans are contributing to climate change.
In the end, the encounter, which was not televised, did little to change the dynamics of a tight race that has left partisans on each side on edge. The two candidates will meet for another debate in Pueblo on Thursday night before a final debate next week in Denver.
- By Nicholas Riccardi, AP Writer
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