U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand clashed with Republican newcomer Mike Sparaicone during a debate hosted by Spectrum News Wednesday night.
What You Need To Know
- On Wedneday night, Spectrum News hosted the only debate this year between the two major candidates in New York’s U.S. Senate race
- Democratic incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican challenger Mike Sapraicone sparred on stage at the University at Albany
- The debate tackled topics including immigration, crime and the economy
The two sparred over the economy, with Gillibrand, the incumbent Democratic senator, insisting “people deserve to earn a living wage for the hard work they do in this state.”
Sapraicone, a former NYPD detective, meanwhile, told debate moderators “it’s important everybody gets a fair wage, but the small businesses, when we start giving people a higher minimum wage, we’re cutting down, we’re hurting those small businesses.”
Sapraicone and Gillibrand were both pressed about how they plan to vote on proposition 1: the ballot proposal that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and prohibit discrimination based on several factors, including gender and ethnicity.
“I will vote yes on proposition one,” Gillibrand said. “Make sure you turn over your ballot and vote yes on prop one. I believe in equality.”
“I vote no,” Sapraicone said. “What it’s about is that you’re going to let an eight-year-old decide that they have a right to change what they are from male to female, or female to male.”
Gillibrand pushed back, insisting, “you’re absolutely wrong, equal rights amendments have been used in the law across this country to guarantee reproductive rights.”
On democracy, with former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris locked in a tight race for the White House, both New York Senate candidates said they would accept the results of the upcoming election.
Watch the full debate here.