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U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and challenger Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse faced off in their first hour-long debate. Another is planned for Aug. 20.
Among the topics were COVID-19, campaign donations, Trump’s taxes, and whether either candidate is adequately present in the district.
Here are five takeaways from last night’s debate:
1. Corporate Money
Neal has accepted corporate donations; Morse hasn’t.
Neal has been in the political field a long time - he has quite the war chest with $3.3 million in donations raised in this election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks political donations. The industry’s that donated the most to Neal are insurance, investments, and real estate.
Morse has raised $840,000. The top industries donating to Morse are retired people (which isn’t an industry, per se, but is what OpenSecrets considers Morse’s top industry donor), Democrats, and education.
2. Showing Up
Both candidates accused the other of not spending enough time in-district for Neal and in-city for Morse. Neal said Morse’s attendance at School Committee meetings is spotty at best.
Morse said it’s been three years since the last time Neal held a Town Hall in his Congressional district.
3. Donald Trump’s Tax Returns:
Morse was critical of Neal’s progress in getting Trump’s taxes released - something people have been trying to do since the reality star first ran for president four years ago. Neal, who chairs the House Weighs and Means Committee, filed for the release of Trump’s taxes back in June 2019.
Neal said he’s taking a calculated and measured approach to obtaining the documents. Morse said Neal isn’t doing enough to move the investigation along.
4. CARES Act
The CARES Act provided stimulus checks to Americans during the pandemic in addition to initiative other COVID-19-related measures.
Morse has said that if he were in Congress, he would have voted against it, describing the act as a “Band-Aid” and a poor one at that: How far will $1,200 really go for a family? He opined. Morse added that Holyoke is providing free meals to children in lieu of school lunches.
Neal has expressed pride in helping to write and support the CARES Act, providing some relief to residents.
5. The Scandal?
Not much attention was paid to what now seems to be a political attack on Morse. Neal denied any connection to it Morse was happy to move on from the topic.
A little over a week ago, members of a UMass Amherst student club, the College Democrats, accused Morse of having “inappropriate” relationships with students while he was a professor at the university. Since the accusations were made, they have greatly unraveled. Investigations by the media have found that not only did the College Dems appear to intentionally set Morse up for the smear, but top members of the Massachusetts Democratic Committee also helped in students’ efforts to discredit the Holyoke mayor.
No complaints have ever been filed against Morse at UMass. And Morse said any relationships he has had have been consensual. Still, the university is investigating the allegations.
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