Republican voters living in Florida’s 18th congressional district got their first glimpse this past Monday night at the field of GOP candidates vying to become their next representative in Washington, D.C., during the first forum or debate held in Jupiter, Florida by the Palm Beach County Tea Party.
Martin County School Board member Rebecca Negron, Attorney Rick Kozell (pictured), businessman Paul Spain, Dr. Marc Freeman, former state Representative Carl Domino, and wounded combat veteran Brian Mast, all attended the forum put on by the Tea Party.Carla Spalding and Republican strategist Noelle Nikpour skipped the event.
As expected, all of the candidates sounded the same, agreeing on just about every single issue.
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Here are a few of the candidate responses from the forum.
Q: As a member of Congress, would you vote to raise the debt ceiling?
Highlight: Rick Kozell refuses to answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
Q: Would you vote for government shutdown if Planned Parenthood is not defunded?
Highlight: Brian Mast says that “as it pertains to the life of an unborn child, I don’t think anybody has the right to play God.”
Q: What would be your overall architecture on tax reform?
Highlights: Rebecca Negron caught unprepared and indecisive on answering question. Fumbles on revenue neutrality.
Kozell: “The good news is that our tax system is so broken, that there are about a hundred ways to address it, an we would still be getting it right.”
Q: Would you commit U.S. troops to fight ISIS?
Highlights:Paul Spain said “I know they (terrorists) are already here, but the are not in this room right now.”
Freeman: “The Manifest Destiny of the United States of America is to be the defender of Israel.”
Mast: Syrian refugees should be defending Syria from ISIS
Carl Domino seemed to have the most substantive responses when it came to domestic and economic policy, as did Paul Spain. Mast flashed his foreign policy bona fides, and Kozell was able to articulate his talking points on all of the issues. Negron was also able to speak to her education reform strengths, including her opposition to Common Core.