Ruben Gallego, Kari Lake spar on border, abortion in Arizona US Senate debate

PHOENIX — Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake went head-to-head in their only scheduled Arizona US Senate debate of the election cycle on Wednesday.

Border policy and abortion rights were the main topics in the hourlong debate. The candidates looking to replace Kyrsten Sinema also spoke on the economy, heat preparedness and election integrity.

What did Gallego, Lake say about border in US Senate debate?

Gallego rehashed a widely used Democratic talking point that it was Donald Trump who killed a comprehensive bill earlier this year intended to alleviate problems at the southern border.

He said it was “very sad” Lake was also against the bill.

“She needs this to be a border problem because that solution would have brought a lot of those problems under control,” Gallego said.

Gallego also accused Lake of putting her ties to Trump over solutions at the border.

“You’ve been to Mar-A-Lago more times than you’ve been to the border,” Gallego said.

Lake retorted, saying a plan by Trump to finish the border wall that didn’t come to fruition during his presidency was the way forward.

She also accused Gallego of having an “extreme makeover” on his border policy, saying he supports “open borders.”

“That border wall keeps us safe,” Lake said. “We’ve seen it here in Arizona because the border wall is there and people aren’t coming through. Where there are gaps, people are coming through.”

What was the conversation about abortion rights?

Gallego said he would codify Roe and attacked Lake for her previous rhetoric on abortion rights, saying “people like Kari Lake make this a dangerous situation.”

“She said she was thrilled that Roe was overturned,” Gallego said. “And so, do we want politicians like Kari Lake to be involved in these very, very difficult decisions when they should be left to the woman and the family?”

Gallego added that Lake would ban abortions, but the Republican candidate said she would never be in favor of a nationwide abortion ban.

She said the future of Arizona abortion law would be settled by Arizona voters in the Nov. 5 general election.

“We have the choice as Arizonans to decide what our abortion law will be,” Lake said. “It’s going to be up to us.”

What else did Gallego, Lake discuss?

The topic of election integrity had its moment at the end of the debate.

Gallego attempted to get Lake to discuss who she believed won the 2022 gubernatorial election between herself and Katie Hobbs. Lake refused.

Lake instead said Arizona has consistent election problems and pushed for day-of voting.

“Let’s get back to something closer to what we used to have – Election Day paper ballots where we know the election results right there on the day of the election,” Lake said.

Gallego said Lake’s election rhetoric has been harmful to Arizona.

“She has caused harm to Arizona,” Gallego said. “She has caused harm and made us a laughing stock and that’s dangerous.”

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