Ted Yoakum
Staff Reporter
The contest for Michigan’s 6th District seat for the US House of Representatives has went from simmering to boiling in the final four weeks until Election Day, with long time Republican incumbent Fred Upton and Democratic challenger Mike O’Brien facing off against one another for the first time this week.
MLive Media Group/The Kalamazoo Gazette and WMUK sponsored the first of two head-to-head debates between the opposing candidates, held in Knauss Hall Monday night. Both men spoke about their positions from issues ranging from the continuing conflict in Afghanistan to the government’s role in funding higher education.
O’Brien, an area business manager and former US Marine, repeatedly challenged his opponent’s voting record in recent years, claiming that Representative’s interests are more aligned with his Republican leadership and not with putting the unemployed in the district back to work.
Upton, on the other hand, pointed to the many pieces of legislation he supported over his nearly 30 years in Congress, laws that he said helped enrich the region, often with bipartisan support.
More than 100 people from all over the community crammed themselves inside the small lecture hall where the event took place. The debate was actually delayed for several minutes while organizers turned away the excess crowd.
For those who were turned away or couldn’t attend for other reasons, the Western Herald is here to help. We compiled a few clips from the debate, which we have posted to our official YouTube page. Check out a few of them below:
Upton and O’Brien on how to reduce the national deficit:
On their views on “all of the above” energy policies:
Check out the rest of the clips on our YouTube channel, and remember to subscribe to our channel to get our newest video updates, as soon as they are posted!
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