Conn Hosts Congressional Debate: A Recap

Courtesy of Sean D. Elliot

On October 10, Connecticut College hosted the Congressional Representative Debate for the Second District of Connecticut in front of a crowded Evans Hall. The audience included students, notably many representatives from Camels Vote, our campus’s nonpartisan voter registration and awareness group, as well as staff, faculty, local safety officials, journalists, and more. The debate was contested between Democratic incumbent Joe Courtney and his Republican challenger Mike France. After Courtney won the pre-debate coin toss and chose to speak last, they were off to the races. 

Members of the local newspaper The New London Day were present to facilitate the debate. The moderator was Lee Howard, current Business Editor and employee of the newspaper for over 40 years. His colleague, Owen Poole, a copy editor for The Day, served as a panelist alongside Susan Raff from WFSB Connecticut and Sophia Williams ‘26 from Camels Vote. 

Following an opening address by Conn President Andrea Chapdelaine, the candidates each gave their opening statements. France went first, discussing his career in the Navy prior to retiring and turning to serve on his town council. He was then encouraged to run for the state legislature, and later decided he wanted to run for Congress to represent the needs of the people of Southeastern Connecticut, and give them “front row seats to seeing government.” Courtney went next, emphasizing his history of success in office, and notably citing that the region of Eastern Connecticut was listed as one of the fastest growing economies in the U.S. in 2023. He also discussed his vision for the future, notably healthcare and education improvements in the next few years.

The first panelist question came from Poole, who asked Courtney about the necessity of the Naval Submarine Base in Groton to the local economy and its room for reform. Courtney responded by saying that 19 submarines have been fully funded and authorized, with a goal of building two per year, but currently there is a congressional budget cap limiting the actual production of the crafts. France then went on the offensive, saying only one submarine has been delivered in actuality over the past six years. In defense, Courtney responded that COVID-19 was in large part a cause of the lack of submarines delivered. He cited generational shifts, a need to rebuild the workforce post-COVID, among other reasons why the two submarines a year margin has not yet been delivered. 

The next question drew more heated debate, as Ms. Raff asked France a question about women’s rights, especially in light of his recent facebook post regarding breast cancer awareness. The post, featuring a shirtless France holding a sign that says “Don’t know how to check your breasts? I can help,” received backlash on the internet for being offensive and insensitive to the subject. France defended the post by saying his own mother had experience with the condition, and that the post was ultimately effective because it sparked conversations about breast cancer awareness lasting long beyond the reception of the posts.

The two candidates debated briefly about climate and renewable energy, before turning the conversation to a more national scale with a question on their stances on gun rights and gun control. France argued that gun rights were a state-level issue, saying “the second amendment is sacrosanct” to this country. Courtney responded by citing recent lockdowns for threatened shootings in the region, and condemning J.D. Vance’s previous comment that school shootings are an unfortunate fact of life. He emphasized the need for regulations on ghost guns and improved and more comprehensive background checks, before citing France’s endorsement by the NRA. 

The candidates answered several more questions, notably including one on how each candidate would protect LGBTQIA+ rights if elected to Congress. Courtney opened by saying the primary way to do this is by supporting and passing the Equality Act, which would extend federal protection of civil liberties to the LGBTQIA+ community for things such as housing and more. France, despite having previously stated that every U.S. citizen has inalienable rights to equality and freedom to live, responded to Courtney’s comment quite briefly by stating that there was no need for this law because their rights were already adequately protected, which was not well-received by the crowd. 

France returned to this theme of balancing state versus federal power in a question on misinformation, saying the ability to decide where the line should be drawn between misinformation and free speech belongs to the state, and it would be unfair of the federal government to infringe upon that dynamic. 

The candidates both agreed on the need to cut down on recent fentanyl deaths across the U.S., but differed on their proposed solutions. While France spoke out against the effectiveness of a proposed bipartisan border control bill, Courtney emphasized the need for this bill to pass in Congress, as it improves the technology available to border agents for intercepting the illegal transport of fentanyl into the country. 

They then fielded a question about the January 6th incident at the Capitol, with France arguing it was a tragedy, but nothing more than trespassing, saying to call it an insurrection would be a disservice to the American people. Courtney took a historical approach by saying it was entirely inappropriate and illegal to defame such an internationally-recognized symbol of democracy, and it should be treated as such. 

The most heated debate of the night was begun by a question on rising prescription drug costs and overall inflation. France blamed the Biden-Harris administration for the nation’s economic issues, while Courtney turned to potential solutions for housing shortages, and the need for support of fundamental workers as well as prescription drug cost cuts for more than just the senior community. On the last question of the debate,  the candidates chose to use their time to circle back to their main points on the economic argument. 

In under an hour, the candidates moved towards their closing statements. France went first, saying he wanted to bring his electrical and naval experience into leading the submarine-heavy area into the future. He restated his ability to find effective solutions to problems such as fentanyl coming over the border and the excessive inflation of the past few years. Courtney, having won the coin toss, closed out the debate. In his closing statement, he discussed his pride in southeastern Connecticut for its nationally-renowned economic growth, before saying the biggest issues moving forward were affordable housing and cutting costs of living for working families especially. He then thanked his staff for their diligent work, saying that his office was the best in the state for helping out constituents. Courtney concluded with his desire to help the young people, before moderator Lee Howard closed out the debate for both the in-person and online audience.