Herrera Beutler, Long go head-to-head at packed forum

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Candidates for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District met face-to-face in public for the first time at a forum Sept. 18. It was hosted at the Oak Tree Restaurant by the Woodland Chamber of Commerce.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, and her Democrat challenger Carolyn Long were joined by a packed house of attendees at the Woodland restaurant where they fielded questions ranging from union support to presidential impeachment. Though it wasn’t an official debate per se, the candidates did take chances to go after their opponent’s stances or make corrections to apparent misstatements.

Woodland resident Ben Thomas led off questions by calling out the residency of Long.

The Washington State University Vancouver political science professor has been accused of being a “carpetbagger” in the district, having only moved there recently. Herrera Beutler grew up and spent most of her life in Southwest Washington. She spoke of fishing at Battle Ground Lake and swimming in the Lewis River in her opening statements. 

Long said she has lived in the district for 17 months, but reiterated her more than two decades at WSU Vancouver, where she helped to start the Initiative for Public Deliberation.

Long claimed to have met more district residents through her three-dozen town halls than Herrera Beutler did in her entire Congressional career.

Herrera Beutler shot back, claiming that although Long had a residence she wasn’t all-in on being a Washingtonian, having lived in Salem prior.

“She’s not raising her family in this district and it’s obvious why; she’s waiting to see whether or not she wins this political election before she chooses to live among us,” Herrera Beutler said, eliciting groans from the crowd and a call to order by forum organizers. “Last year at this time she was changing her Oregon plates.”

Long later retorted that her daughter was attending school and her husband was working in Clark County.

While both candidates spoke of economic growth, they had opposing views on what constituted good policy. 

Herrera Beutler championed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation that took effect this year, saying it helped lead to “the greatest jobs market we’ve seen in a generation.” 

“Four million Americans and counting are getting raises, bonuses, and better benefits,” she later added. “That’s music to my ears.”

Long had a much more sour tone on the tax cuts, calling it “the most fiscally irresponsible bill that I have ever seen.”

“Eighty-three percent of the benefits go to corporations and the wealthiest in America. Take a look at their wage increases, it’s been tremendous,” Long said. “Does some part of the bill help working families? Absolutely. And I will fight to protect those.”

“Let’s be careful when we talk about the economy because you can’t just look at things like an unemployment rate and say things are going well,” Long said. She added that though the rate might be lower in some instances people were working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Healthcare and government programs were another topic of discussion with both candidates having some measure of support for Medicare and Social Security. Herrera Beutler pointed at Long’s support of a “Medicare for all” plan that has been reported as costing $32 trillion to implement. She said it would be a fiscal issue, and such a plan “would bankrupt private insurance as we know it.”

Herrera Beutler used Long’s support of Medicare for all to discredit her during a question regarding unions and right-to-work states, which do not require union membership in certain industries. She said such support could undercut union benefits such as private insurance.

Long was a strong supporter of unions, saying that they had been “decimated” in the past few decades because of right-to-work legislation. She referenced her time working at Safeway to pay for college where she had a union job.



“I think it is one reason why we see the decline in the wages of the average American because it corresponds with the decline of unions,” Long said.

Herrera Beutler said she has been a supporter of workers’ rights to form unions, adding that at times she hasn’t sided with the GOP on the issue. She downplayed any right-to-work legislation as being a threat to Washington labor.

A question about recent comments from President Donald Trump about Department of Justice investigations turned into a conversation about impeachment. 

Herrera Beutler felt it was “crucial” that investigations regarding election interference and the president follow their courses.

“The president has said he committed no crimes, so in my mind, I see no reason why the Mueller investigation and others shouldn’t come through to completion, and then where the facts lead…  I’m not afraid to go there,” Herrera Beutler said. “No one is above the law.” 

Long also believed the investigations needed to move forward, commenting she believed there would be “overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing” through the process.

“I’m so alarmed so frequently when I hear from Donald Trump that he wants to make staff changes because that sounds a little bit like obstruction to me,” Long said.

Long didn’t want talk of impeachment to distract from other developments in the country, however, noting that should the process happen it would be a burden on the US.

“I would hope that the president would resign first,” she said.

Though the candidates provided varying viewpoints on policy, both acknowledged a need for bipartisan work to succeed. Long’s campaign slogan “people over politics” has been a focus since the outset, and Herrera Beutler noted that a report from Georgetown University’s Lugar Center had her ranked 15th most-bipartisan out of all 435 in the House of Representatives.

“It is absolutely crucial if you want to achieve measurable results … you put policy issues above partisan fighting,” she said. 

Herrera Beutler mentioned work with Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Democrat, during both the Obama and Trump administrations in protecting Pacific Northwest resource interests. In particular, she spoke about legislation allowing the cull of sea lions to protect salmon stocks, something she was able to get all of Washington and Oregon’s House delegation to vote for.

“Do you know how hard it is to get the Seattle, downtown Representative to vote on the same bill a ‘yes’ with the conservative Eastern Washington Representative?” Herrera Beutler remarked. “I do.”

The Third Congressional District has caught statewide and national attention in part to its relatively competitive nature. In the Aug. 7 primary Herrera Beutler was able to get a close to 42.1 percent of the vote with Long gaining roughly 35.3 percent.

Following the forum, Long made a statement about the event, noting that although she enjoyed the chance to ask questions, “this wasn’t a real debate.”

“This was a forum, and the format didn’t allow for rebuttal from candidates or fact-checking from the moderator,” Long’s statement read. She added that although both candidates have been invited to participate in such a format by the League of Women Voters, Herrera Beutler would not accept.