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Republican candidates for 2nd District clash over who can best beat Kuster

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AdvertisementNegron, Blankenbeker meet again in contest for Republican nominationRepublican candidates for 2nd District clash over who can best beat KusterNegron, Blankenbeker meet again in contest for Republican nominationHide TranscriptShow TranscriptCHANCE TO FLIP THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. WMUR'S JEAN MACKIN BRINGS US SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS. RETIRED AIR FORCE OFFICER STEVE NEGRON AND COMBAT NURSE LYNNE BLANKENBEKER FACED OFF - FROM A SOCIAL DISTANCE - VYING FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION IN THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT  (WIPE)  THE DEBATE TACKLED SEVERAL PANDEMIC ISSUES - INCLUDING THE VACCINE   (TRUMP RALLY FILE) THEY WERE ASKED WHY THEY DID NOT FULLY FOLLOW THE GOVERNOR'S EXECUTIVE ORDER TO WEAR A MASK AT THE RECENT RALLY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP IN LONDONDERRY  (WIPE)  AND THEY TALKED ABOUT IMMIGRATION, GUN VIOLENCE AND RACISM  (WIPE) &gt; Download the free WMUR app Steve Negron is a retired Air Force officer who now runs a small business working with defense contractors. He has lived in Nashua for almost 30 years and was the Republican nominee in the 2nd District in 2018.Lynne Blankenbeker is an attorney and combat nurse who served most recently on the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort. She has also served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.In a debate that aired Thursday night on WMUR, the candidates debated how best to get the economy back on its feet amid the COVID-19 pandemic, how to deal with social unrest in the country and who would be the best person to face Kuster.Blankenbeker chided Negron for losing to Kuster in 2018.&gt;&gt; View the full debate"In 2018, we lost the seat by 13 points," Blankenbeker said. "That was a big loss."But Negron, who lost to Kuster 55.5% to 42.2%, noted that he doesn't need to make up 13 points to win."Let me help my opponent with some math," he said. "The only thing you need to do is you have to get 50 plus one. We got 42.2% of the vote. It's not 13 points we need. We needed 7.9, and that's what we learned.Much of the debate focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Both candidates said people are anxious for things to get more back to normal."It's clear that there are universes of people that we need to protect, and we absolutely need to do those things to be able to provide for those protections," Negron said. "But I don’t believe that everybody has to be sprayed with the same antidote. I believe that we have people out there that want to get back to work."Blankenbeker said that with safeguards in place, children can return to school and people can go back to work."I hear the same thing all the way across the state," she said. "Folks are tired of being cooped up. They're ready to get out. And folks, they want their fears allayed. It is easy as a nurse to be able to have a good conversation with them about realistic fears."The candidates were asked about their appearances at a recent campaign rally held in New Hampshire by President Donald Trump where both were seen without masks. Under an emergency order issued by Gov. Chris Sununu, people at scheduled gatherings of more than 100 people, such as the rally, are required to wear masks.Blankenbeker noted that she was diagnosed with COVID-19 after working on the hospital ship."With my antibodies and the fact that I have had COVID, I wasn’t a risk to myself or to others," she said. "I did wear my mask, but when I was taking photos, we agreed in a group to take our masks off for those photos."Studies are still underway over how much protection antibodies provide. Some doctors have said they have treated patients who have been infected again with COVID-19 after previously recovering.Negron said it was his personal decision to not wear a mask, despite the governor's order."The president was there without the mask. There were many, many people that were out there that were New Hampshire residents that were without masks. The governor did show up, and he wore a mask," Negron said. "It wasn’t a political statement. It was just me saying, 'I know my surroundings, I know my health, and I know I didn’t have to wear a mask, so I didn’t do it."In saying that COVID-19 is not as serious as feared, Blankenbeker misrepresented a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC noted that among Americans who have died of COVID-19, 6% had no other underlying conditions listed.People have taken to social media to claim incorrectly that the report means that only 6% of the U.S. death toll is attributable to COVID-19. In fact, it has long been known that chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity seem to increase the risk of dying of COVID-19. And someone with those underlying conditions may have been able to manage those conditions for years or decades if they hadn't been infected with COVID-19."Now that we've seen the CDC reports, where the original models of this said millions of people were going to die, and now CDC has come down and they have dropped their numbers of COID-related deaths by 96%," Blankenbeker said.Blankenbeker's response came as the candidates were asked about the idea that the virus is a hoax. Both acknowledged that the virus is real but said the reaction to it has been overblown."What the hoax is was that it's the fear that we were going to have these millions of deaths as a result of this pandemic," Negron said. "It's clear that that has not come to fruition."The warnings about possible high death tolls were predictions of what could happen if people didn't take action to slow or prevent the spread of COVID-19. Health experts have credited precautions such as social distancing and mask-wearing with limiting the spread of the virus.The two candidates clashed when answering a question about controlling government spending while responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Negron described himself as a fiscal hawk, while Blankenbeker called herself fiscally responsible. She then claimed Negron's campaign is $300,000 in debt, something Negron disputed."That money is money that I leant the campaign. That's my personal resources," Negron said. "She wants people to believe that I owe that money to anybody else. The person I owe that money to is myself. She's been doing this for the last three months. It's not getting any traction and it's just the sign of a desperate campaign."Blankenbeker said Negron is not fiscally responsible."First of all, these are not attacks. These are the facts," she said. "Whether you borrow the money from yourself or you borrow the money from the bank or you borrow the money from China, we simply cannot have a person who believes that borrowing money is the way to finance anything."With social unrest on display in many parts of the country, the candidates were asked about how to address concerns about racial injustice."My perspective is heads above anybody else in this race because I am a Hispanic and I am a minority," Negron said. "What I think that people are getting wrong is that they're listening and they're trying to see that the Democrats are trying to paint that this country is truly a racist country. I can tell you firsthand that it is not."Blankenbeker said her experience in the Navy has given her the skills to discuss tough topics with people."Certainly, there are pockets of areas in our country where there is more racism than there is in other pockets of America, and it's definitely a problem," she said. "You know, we need to listen. and we need to listen with the intent to learn. I’m in leadership in my command in the Navy. As a command equal opportunity officer, we sit down and we have conversations. We call them enduring conversations, and we have respectful conversations where we try to learn and we try to listen with the intent to learn."Both said they were opposed to any push to rename military bases that were named after Confederate leaders. Negron said members of the military personally identify with the bases, while Blankenbeker said the bases are named after people who contributed to the United States in heroic ways.The debate aired Thursday night, but it was recorded Wednesday, and other precautions were taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The candidates were in separate rooms at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, while the moderator and panelists were at WMUR's studios.Votes will be counted Sept. 8.Republican 2nd CD candidates say how they would make NH a better place 2nd CD Republicans say when, how they think pandemic will end Negron answers question about messaging after he did not wear mask at Trump rally Blankenbeker answers why she wasn't extra cautious at Trump rally 2nd CD Republicans answer whether they will get a COVID-19 vaccine 2nd CD Republicans say how they would control spending while responding to COVID-192nd CD Republicans discuss seriousness of COVID-19 2nd CD Republicans address immigration, what they've learned about each other, gun rights 2nd CD Republicans say what Americans are getting wrong in current discussions about race, justice 2nd CD Republicans say whether they think Black Americans are disproportionately incarcerated 2nd CD Republicans say whether they think military should rename bases named after Confederate generals 2nd CD Republicans speak about outreach they have done to local immigrant groups2nd CD Republicans say whether they think DACA recpients should be allowed to stay in the U.S. 2nd CD Republicans say how they would help industries affected by climate change2nd CD Republicans say whether they think the government should treat gun violence like a pandemic 2nd CD Republicans discuss abortion stances Negron discusses receiving Family Research Council's endorsement Blankenbeker talks about military's policy on transgender individuals 2nd CD Republicans say if they are seeking the president's endorsement in primary race 2nd CD Republicans say how they plan to compete financially with Democratic incumbent 2nd CD Republicans say whether they would support taxpayer-funded bailout 2nd CD Republicans say how concerned they are about foreign election interference2nd CD Republicans deliver message to voters about their important roles in US 2nd CD Republicans deliver closing statementsTwo Republican candidates who squared off in 2018 for the party's nomination in the 2nd Congressional District debated the top issues in the campaign this week as they once again battled for the chance to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster.&gt;&gt;AdvertisementSteve Negron is a retired Air Force officer who now runs a small business working with defense contractors. He has lived in Nashua for almost 30 years and was the Republican nominee in the 2nd District in 2018.Lynne Blankenbeker is an attorney and combat nurse who served most recently on the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort. She has also served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.In a debate that aired Thursday night on WMUR, the candidates debated how best to get the economy back on its feet amid the COVID-19 pandemic, how to deal with social unrest in the country and who would be the best person to face Kuster.Blankenbeker chided Negron for losing to Kuster in 2018.&gt;&gt; "In 2018, we lost the seat by 13 points," Blankenbeker said. "That was a big loss."But Negron, who lost to Kuster 55.5% to 42.2%, noted that he doesn't need to make up 13 points to win."Let me help my opponent with some math," he said. "The only thing you need to do is you have to get 50 plus one. We got 42.2% of the vote. It's not 13 points we need. We needed 7.9, and that's what we learned.Much of the debate focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Both candidates said people are anxious for things to get more back to normal."It's clear that there are universes of people that we need to protect, and we absolutely need to do those things to be able to provide for those protections," Negron said. "But I don’t believe that everybody has to be sprayed with the same antidote. I believe that we have people out there that want to get back to work."Blankenbeker said that with safeguards in place, children can return to school and people can go back to work."I hear the same thing all the way across the state," she said. "Folks are tired of being cooped up. They're ready to get out. And folks, they want their fears allayed. It is easy as a nurse to be able to have a good conversation with them about realistic fears."The candidates were asked about their appearances at a recent campaign rally held in New Hampshire by President Donald Trump where both were seen without masks. Under an emergency order issued by Gov. Chris Sununu, people at scheduled gatherings of more than 100 people, such as the rally, are required to wear masks.Blankenbeker noted that she was diagnosed with COVID-19 after working on the hospital ship."With my antibodies and the fact that I have had COVID, I wasn’t a risk to myself or to others," she said. "I did wear my mask, but when I was taking photos, we agreed in a group to take our masks off for those photos."Studies are still underway over how much protection antibodies provide. Some doctors have said they have treated patients who have been infected again with COVID-19 after previously recovering.Negron said it was his personal decision to not wear a mask, despite the governor's order."The president was there without the mask. There were many, many people that were out there that were New Hampshire residents that were without masks. The governor did show up, and he wore a mask," Negron said. "It wasn’t a political statement. It was just me saying, 'I know my surroundings, I know my health, and I know I didn’t have to wear a mask, so I didn’t do it."In saying that COVID-19 is not as serious as feared, Blankenbeker misrepresented a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC noted that among Americans who have died of COVID-19, 6% had no other underlying conditions listed.People have taken to social media to claim incorrectly that the report means that only 6% of the U.S. death toll is attributable to COVID-19. In fact, it has long been known that chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity seem to increase the risk of dying of COVID-19. And someone with those underlying conditions may have been able to manage those conditions for years or decades if they hadn't been infected with COVID-19."Now that we've seen the CDC reports, where the original models of this said millions of people were going to die, and now CDC has come down and they have dropped their numbers of COID-related deaths by 96%," Blankenbeker said.Blankenbeker's response came as the candidates were asked about the idea that the virus is a hoax. Both acknowledged that the virus is real but said the reaction to it has been overblown."What the hoax is was that it's the fear that we were going to have these millions of deaths as a result of this pandemic," Negron said. "It's clear that that has not come to fruition."The warnings about possible high death tolls were predictions of what could happen if people didn't take action to slow or prevent the spread of COVID-19. Health experts have credited precautions such as social distancing and mask-wearing with limiting the spread of the virus.The two candidates clashed when answering a question about controlling government spending while responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Negron described himself as a fiscal hawk, while Blankenbeker called herself fiscally responsible. She then claimed Negron's campaign is $300,000 in debt, something Negron disputed."That money is money that I leant the campaign. That's my personal resources," Negron said. "She wants people to believe that I owe that money to anybody else. The person I owe that money to is myself. She's been doing this for the last three months. It's not getting any traction and it's just the sign of a desperate campaign."Blankenbeker said Negron is not fiscally responsible."First of all, these are not attacks. These are the facts," she said. "Whether you borrow the money from yourself or you borrow the money from the bank or you borrow the money from China, we simply cannot have a person who believes that borrowing money is the way to finance anything."With social unrest on display in many parts of the country, the candidates were asked about how to address concerns about racial injustice."My perspective is heads above anybody else in this race because I am a Hispanic and I am a minority," Negron said. "What I think that people are getting wrong is that they're listening and they're trying to see that the Democrats are trying to paint that this country is truly a racist country. I can tell you firsthand that it is not."Blankenbeker said her experience in the Navy has given her the skills to discuss tough topics with people."Certainly, there are pockets of areas in our country where there is more racism than there is in other pockets of America, and it's definitely a problem," she said. "You know, we need to listen. and we need to listen with the intent to learn. I’m in leadership in my command in the Navy. As a command equal opportunity officer, we sit down and we have conversations. We call them enduring conversations, and we have respectful conversations where we try to learn and we try to listen with the intent to learn."Both said they were opposed to any push to rename military bases that were named after Confederate leaders. Negron said members of the military personally identify with the bases, while Blankenbeker said the bases are named after people who contributed to the United States in heroic ways.The debate aired Thursday night, but it was recorded Wednesday, and other precautions were taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The candidates were in separate rooms at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, while the moderator and panelists were at WMUR's studios.Votes will be counted Sept. 8.Loading more articles...

AdvertisementNegron, Blankenbeker meet again in contest for Republican nominationRepublican candidates for 2nd District clash over who can best beat KusterNegron, Blankenbeker meet again in contest for Republican nominationHide TranscriptShow TranscriptCHANCE TO FLIP THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. WMUR'S JEAN MACKIN BRINGS US SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS. RETIRED AIR FORCE OFFICER STEVE NEGRON AND COMBAT NURSE LYNNE BLANKENBEKER FACED OFF - FROM A SOCIAL DISTANCE - VYING FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION IN THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT  (WIPE)  THE DEBATE TACKLED SEVERAL PANDEMIC ISSUES -...

Republican candidates for 2nd District clash over who can best beat Kuster

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