5 On Your Side along with Nine Network Public Media and the St. Louis Public Radio hosted an hour-long senate debate between Republican Josh Hawley and Democrat Claire McCaskill.
Here is a recap of what happened in Thursday night's debate.
Cuts to Medicare and Social Security
Hawley said he does not support cuts to Medicare or Social Security, saying they are promises made to the American people that they should not break. He suggests cutting the Affordable Care Act instead.
Hawley accused Sen. McCaskill of cutting $716 billion from Medicare to pay for the Affordable Care Act, which is true. Sen. McCaskill responded that those cuts went towards bolstering the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug program and other wellness initiatives under the Affordable Care Act.
McCaskill said President Trump's tax cuts that Hawley supports is adding to the deficit in a time of economic success, which the country should not be doing. She does not support cuts to Medicare, and said Hawley's lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act would remove a Medicare benefit in the law that she said would help drug companies. McCaskill called Hawley's lawsuit is reckless because there is no backup.
Hawley responded to a follow-up question about the tax cuts by saying he does not support a tax increase. He said he would try to get spending under control to decrease the deficit by making cuts to the Affordable Care Act.
Gun violence
In a question from an audience member, Josh Hawley was asked what he would do about what the audience member called the "gun violence epidemic".
Hawley said he wants to fix the national background check system. His main suggestion is to add mental health information to the system.
McCaskill said she supports the 2nd Amendment but believes the country needs universal background checks, ban bump stocks and keep people on the no-fly list from buying guns through gun shows.
Neither candidate supports using federal funds to arm teachers but said it was up to local districts to decide if they want to arm teachers.
Tariffs
McCaskill called President Trump's tariffs brutal for Missouri. She said the export of agricultural goods is key for farmers in Missouri and, because of the tariffs, commodity prices have fallen.
"There's not a bean farmer in Missouri that's going to come out even this year," McCaskill said. "And the help that they're being given [referring to help from the Trump administration] frankly in some situations is insulting. Corn, a penny a bushel? it's almost not worth the effort."
She said she considers the farm aid insulting in some situations after talking with farmers, who told her they wanted a market, not a handout.
She also said the tariffs have been damaging to small manufactures due to raw cost increases.
Hawley said we are in a trade war that our farmers did not start, but it is a trade war that the country needs to win. He said President Trump has had success with new deals between the United States and our neighbors, Canada and Mexico.
He supported the farm aid bills and made a jab about McCaskill's statement at the time of the bill.
If our farmers are getting retaliated against by China, they deserve to be supported
"When the president announced his aid package, she said that it was picking winners and losers and intervening in the market," he said. "Well with all due respect, I want to pick winners and losers. I want to pick Missouri Farmers as winners and China as a loser."
McCaskill said he applauds the president for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Act, and is not afraid to compliment the president.
Healthcare
Moderators wrapped back around to healthcare, asking Hawley about his lawsuit trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.
Hawley said his lawsuit is only about repealing the ACA.
"I think we should repeal and replace Obamacare because I think that people with pre-existing conditions like my boy are being held hostage to the dramatic price increases that they are being forced to spend."
He said he supports forcing insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions and said there are ways other than the Affordable Care Act that can do that. He listed a reinsurance program like Maine has done, federal exchanges and direct subsidies. He asked McCaskill if she would support any programs to cover pre-existing conditions that weren't the Affordable Care Act.
McCaskill cited the Republican majority's struggle to pass a repeal and replace plan for the Affordable Care Act.
"[Republicans] have been in charge, they've promised repeal and replace over and over and over again," McCaskill said. "They couldn't get enough Republican votes for their replace plan because they knew it was going to hurt people so much."
Instead of using one of the plans Hawley listed, McCaskill said she thinks leaders need to fix what they can fix. She said there are bipartisan bills like one to introduce reinsurance programs, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel has refused to allow a vote.
She said Hawley does not have a backup if his lawsuit does get rid of the Affordable Care Act.
Hawley said he does not support the Republican alternatives on pre-existing conditions that would assure coverage of pre-existing conditions, but allow states to give insurance companies the ability to raise rates.
Climate Change
Hawley said he's sure the climate is changing and humans are contributing to it, but he is very concerned about EPA regulations on farmers. Hawley said McCaskill supported Waters of the United States, despite Missouri farmers being against it.
McCaskill said she opposed Waters of the United States and other regulations she said were over-reaching. She then went after Hawley for his support of former EPA Chief Scott Pruitt. She said it is time to trust scientists and move to alternative fuels.
"Right to Work"
Josh Hawley said Missouri voters spoke loudly about 'right to work' legislation when they voted it down. He did not say he was against 'right to work' legislation, however.
McCaskill said she is against 'right to work', and is not afraid to tell a president of any party her stance. She also threw her support behind a minimum wage increase, calling it a common-sense decision that raises wages $0.85 per year until the minimum wage reaches $12.
Hawley said he does not support a minimum wage increase but wants to see wages increase across the board. He said McCaskill voted no on President Trump's tax cuts which would have provided a tax cut for the middle class.
McCaskill said she voted against the tax cuts because they disproportionately favored the wealthy.
Border security
When asked if she would support a wall along the southern border, McCaskill cited her voting record in saying she supports border security. She said she talked with border patrol agents who told her the thing they needed to secure the border was technology, infrastructure and personnel. She said she helped secure funding to get those things. She also said supports walls in some part of the southern border but said putting a wall across the whole thing is not as easy as it sounds.
Hawley said his answer was more simple than McCaskill's. He said he would support the construction of a border wall and would do everything to get funding for the wall.
