 Good evening. Welcome to election coverage on town meeting television. You are watching the US Senate Democratic debate. I'm Mayor Christine lot and joining me this evening are Congressman Peter Welch, Dr. Nicky Fran and Isaac Evans France. I'll be asking a series of questions and each candidate will have an opportunity to respond. Please keep your responses to two minutes or less. The candidates may be allowed a rebuttal or allowed to ask follow up questions of each other with 30 seconds to respond. I will be time tracking and I will nudge you politely if you are going over the time limit. We want to make sure everyone has equal airtime. So I would like to start with opening statements and Nikki, why don't you kick us off. Oh, you're on mute. Christine and CCV TV. I would like to start with an acknowledgement to have the Abenaki people of the dawn and all the members of the BIPOC community. I would like to acknowledge their elders past present and those of future generations. I pledge to write the injustices of the past and fight for equality in the future. My name is Dr. Nikki Fran and I am running to be Vermont's first female senator. I am qualified to do this because I am a great problem solver, I am intelligent and I am very hardworking. And I want to bring change to DC. And if you elect me, you will get the first female senator. Thank you. Congressman Welch. Thank you. Thank you very much. And it's good to be with Isaac and Nikki again. This election is at a crucial time in our history. You know, other moments in our history, we've had major decisions about public policy questions. This time we have a major question about the future of democracy. What we've seen with the revelations of the January 6 commission is that the then President Trump incited a crowd, raised millions of dollars off the crowd, incited it to violence. And he did that knowing that the people were armed and ready to go to the Capitol, even go after the vice president and Nancy Pelosi. It's the first time in the history of our country that violence has been used as an in an effort to overthrow the will of the people in their decision about who should be our president. We need to protect democracy and we need to protect our democracy because it is the tool by which we resolve disputes and challenges that our country faces. Mitch McConnell is going to do everything he can in this race to make himself the majority leader, and then use that position to thwart the ambitions that Vermonters have. This election is crucial. Thank you. And Isaac. You're on mute. Thank you. Thank you for the inclusion of Jayland walker by Akron police. And yesterday's mass shooting in Highland Park underscore the need for leadership. Here's why I'm running for us Senate. Because Vermonters like me organized, we have student seats on the Vermont State Board of Education, we are set to expand Vermont's dental workforce and 190 countries got global pandemic relief. played a decisive role in each of those wins. I'm running because Vermonters need leadership in this time of crisis. We need a Senate that looks like America and unites our communities across difference. When you vote for me as your next junior U.S. Senator, you'll help elect the first openly gay male U.S. Senator. You'll be electing somebody who's from a low-income family in Vermont, someone who's been leading coalitions nationally and for justice for the past 20 years. I'm a movement leader who brings the voices of everyday Vermonters and Americans to Washington. I've earned the endorsement of the Vermont Progressive Party and I look forward to earning your support. All right, thank you. So we will dive into prepared questions. Peter, I'm gonna throw the first one to you as the first responder. And this is about the role of the seat. So as the most senior member of the U.S. Senate, Patrick Leahy has been able to make connections and bring a lot of resources to Vermont that have benefited our communities. How do you see yourself taking up this position and how do you imagine making up for what many see as a potential loss to Vermont? Well, it's all acknowledge it is a loss to Vermont. Patrick Leahy is, I think, the most outstanding member of our political history, really. He has served us for 48 years with integrity, with wisdom and generosity. And of course, his chair that the Appropriations Committee, he was in a unique position to be able to steer funding to Vermont. So let's all acknowledge that. But in the past 16 years, I worked hand-in-hand with Patrick and with Bernie. And what we were able to do together, among other things, was get like a billion dollars of aid when Irene, Tropical Storm Irene did more damage here than at any time since 1937. And what I've done is been a partner in the house where I've been able to build coalitions, coalitions among Republicans and Democrats, also build coalitions and relationships with members of the Senate. Also be back in Vermont virtually every week to listen to Vermonters and integrate their concerns and desires into the work I do in Washington. So I hit the ground running in building on the relationships and the work I've done in partnership with Bernie and Patrick. I am really looking forward to doing everything we can to maintain that quality of integrity that Patrick has brought to this office. Thank you. Isaac, same question. How do you see yourself taking up this role? I celebrate Senator Leahy's service to Vermont and to America. As your next junior US Senator, it will be my job to deliver for the people of Vermont. But we need to think about what delivering means. My job is to deliver for the majority of Vermonters, not the narrow special interests that have been listened to by Congressman Welch when he helped bring the F-35 fighter jets here against the will of the people of Burlington or when he did the bidding of the pharmaceutical industry instead of fighting for people's health. We talk about bringing home the bacon, but in the case of the fighter jets, it's like bringing home bacon for a home of Muslims or Jews or vegetarians. The majority of the voters of Burlington, South Burlington and Manuski have been clear. They didn't want the F-35s back then and they don't want them now. When we talk about delivering for Vermonters, we need to focus on what everyday Vermonters actually want. On my bike ride this summer across Vermont, I heard Vermonters want housing. They want childcare. They want healthcare. Protection of our natural resources. When you vote for me on August 9th, you will be choosing a Senator who has dedicated his life to speaking up for and organizing Americans for justice. Thank you, Isaac. Peter, you were called named in there. Would you like a rebuttal? Well, I would. I took a couple of bike rides across Vermont over the years and heard many of the same things that Isaac mentioned. And in the Build Back Better, which I worked very hard on, we got through the house and now is being blocked in the Senate by the filibuster. There was record funds for housing, record funds and pharmaceutical price negotiation, which I've been the champion on in the House of Representatives. And we had the biggest environmental program that would significantly reduce carbon emissions. So a lot of those issues that Isaac mentioned, absolutely those are the things on Vermonters' mind. And those were issues that we passed in the house Bernie and Patrick are doing everything they can to get them passed in the Senate. Thank you. Nikki, I'll turn it to you now to speak to how you would step into this role and the loss of Senator Leahy. I agree Senator Leahy not being in Congress is a huge loss, but I plan to build, stand on his shoulders and continue many of the policies that he enacted. So I'm going to build on the foundation that he started. Our campaign has three main parts. The first is healthcare, the second is equity and the third is the environment. And I know that these were all important to Senator Leahy and I plan to continue the work that he has started. So it'll be less of a loss that way. Thank you. Isaac, we'll start with you for the next question about foreign policy. The war in Ukraine has pointed out just how affected we all are by global crises. What is your stance on U.S. involvement with Ukraine and conflicts around the world? What role should we play and how would you work towards using the Senate seat? You're on mute button. Putin's invasion of Ukraine was wrong. The U.S. has been right to stand with the Ukrainian people and I've been proud of being part of the Vermonters who have stood on the streets and who have donated and have supported Ukrainian people. We must ask ourselves now, how does this end? We need realistic diplomacy which the New York Times editorial board has called for as well. More broadly, Congress must reclaim its power over war. We are in the eighth year of the Saudi war on Yemen. Congress never authorized our participation. In 2019, after years of activism that I coordinated, the democratically controlled House and Republican controlled Senate passed a resolution to stop this unconstitutional participation in the war. I've played a pivotal leadership role in making that happen. As of today, a hundred members of Congress, including Congressman Welch, thank you, have co-sponsored another bipartisan resolution, including specifically to stop U.S. participation in this war on Yemen. Bernie has promised to introduce the resolution in the Senate. When I'm in the Senate, we are not gonna wait for years to call the question on participation in wars. I will force a vote immediately. In our last debate, I challenge you, Congressman, to join Democratic leaders in Congress, including the chair of the Intelligence Committee you serve on in criticizing President Biden's plan to meet with a Saudi crown prince. He's a dictator responsible for killing American journalists and for waging a catastrophic war against the people of Yemen. You did not make such a statement. And now Democratic leaders in Congress are challenging Biden to use his trip to permanently end the Saudi war in Yemen. Will you, Congressman, call on Speaker Pelosi to put the Yemen War Powers Resolution on the floor for a vote? And will you call on Senator Sanders to introduce the Yemen War Powers Resolution in the Senate before Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia? Rebuttal? Oh, you're on mute. The question was about Ukraine. And I'll get to Yemen in a minute. I strongly support the assistance, the military assistance, the humanitarian assistance and the sanctions that we are part of imposing on Russia for this vicious, absolutely vicious bloodletting that they're inflicting on the people of Ukraine. Now, I went to Latvia, Poland, and in Bratislava. And I'll tell you, it was so chilling meeting the people there because it was as though yesterday was the second world war. It was very vivid in their memory. And there was enormous relief that at least the US was coming together with European allies to push back and help Ukraine defend itself. I can come back to Yemen if I'm over time, but I'd be glad to do that. Would you like to just briefly respond to Isaac's question about a statement about Yemen? Yeah, I mean, I've been a leader in Congress about decrying the US sales of military weapons to Saudi Arabia, which are then being used in this God awful war in Yemen. Civilians are suffering. It's a proxy war. And I have been one of the leaders in a co-sponsor to legislation with my partner, Adam Schiff, in my partner, Ro Khanna, in my partner, Peter Defazio. We want that war to be ended and we do not want US military aid to be sent to Saudi Arabia or even let Saudi Arabia purchase weapons to be used against the people of Yemen. And I've been public about that and I will continue to advocate for that. And that's going to be a vote. I expect that we will have on the National Defense Authorization Act next week or the week after. Thank you for that response. Can I just clarify the questions? We should move on. I want to make sure Niki has a chance to respond to the initial question, which was about- Okay, my questions weren't answered, maybe we can go back to that later. The war- My extra time for you, Isaac. War is the worst type of conflict resolution and should be used only when diplomacy fails. We know that all wars ended in diplomatic solutions. So obviously we've gone beyond that now. I think we have to think about what does Putin want and how do we give him an exit ramp? We are in this war now and I strongly support giving them military support. I wish it wasn't, it hadn't reached this point, but when diplomacy, when all else fails, this is what we're left with. And I reserve the excess of my time for Isaac if you'd like to take it. Actually, we will have time later for questions for opponents. I don't think we need to dive deeper into this right now. I'd like to move on to the next question which Nikki will start with you. This is about democracy. Is American democracy under threat and how could you address the threat if you so feel there is one using this US Senate seat? Well, I 100% believe democracy is under threat, both physically as we can see in the January 6th hearings as well as metaphorically with rights being taken away by the Supreme Court. We need to address this on multiple fronts and the best way is through transparency. If people trusted us, if they trusted their government, there wouldn't be as much of a... I mean, that's the problem. The people have lost trust in the government and we need to regain that and that will be democracy. Thank you. Peter, same question. Our democracy is under, in its threatened and we have to respond that in fact, it's the existential question we're gonna face in the next Congress. We saw that Donald Trump made a real effort to have a coup and overturn the election of Joe Biden who won by 7 million votes. We saw violence used in an effort to subvert that election. We then in this, I was present at three in the morning when the next act was 147 Republican legislators who were buying to stop the steal live voted against ceding President Biden. And then since then, partisan legislatures aligned with Trump in the big lie theory have been passing laws through the democratic process essentially to strip voters of their democratic rights. So yes, democracy is under assault. The first thing we have to do, I believe, is pass the Voting Rights Act that guarantees that your vote, first of all, you'll be able to vote and secondly, your vote will be counted. Second, we have to pass the John Lewis Voting Act that would make voting solid and secure, particularly in Southern states that have been under the jurisdiction of the Voting Rights Act. And finally, in order to do that in the Senate, we have to get rid of the filibuster. Those two pieces of legislation I mentioned, we passed, my vote was among those that got it through the house. We passed them in the house, but it's blocked in the Senate because of the 60 vote rule under the filibuster. And by the way, the stakes in this election are so high because with the 50, 50 Senate, if Mitch McConnell becomes the majority leader, then these will not even be considered for a vote. So yes, we have to protect our democracy and it is imperiled. Thank you. Isaac, is democracy under threat and what would you do? American democracy is under threat like never before. I will use my position as a US Senator, as your US Senator to speak up for Vermonters and mobilize us for justice, as I've always done. Voter suppression and disinformation campaigns are major threats to our democracy. No one should have to wait in line for eight hours in order to vote. Voter suppression targets communities of color, young voters, people living in poverty, people are being targeted in states run by Republicans. I will work to pass legislation protecting the right to vote. I will work to expand mail-in voting and automatic voter registration like we have here in Vermont. I'll work to eliminate the undue influence of corporate lobbyists in Washington. And that's why I've never taken and will never take a nickel of corporate PAC money. But part of democracy is also that we need to have these forums where we can get our questions answered. And my question that I answered earlier for the Congressman was about foreign policy and in response to a conversation that you had posed around conflicts around the world. And I asked if he would call on Speaker Pelosi to put the Yemen War Powers Resolution on the floor for a vote. And if he'd call on Senator Sanders to introduce the Yemen War Powers Resolution in the Senate before President Biden stripped of Saudi Arabia and those questions weren't answered. That's the problem that we have with American democracy that we're not getting questions. We're not getting answers for our questions that we need systems to be able to hold elected leaders accountable because too often we forget in this country that our leaders report to our people and it's not the other way around that the people that we election to office are accountable to the voters, the people who put them in office. And so as constituents of the Congressman I think that we deserve answers to these questions. Thank you. Thank you, Isaac. I mean, we can move to the section, questions for opponents if you want to read address your answer, Peter. Bernie and I are on the same page on Yemen. And I leave it to him to figure out the best technical way in which to advance this. I have a lot of respect for not only his integrity and his commitment on the issue of war and peace but on his judgment about the best way to proceed in the Senate. In the house with Jim McGovern, we have talked to Speaker Pelosi. It's oftentimes floor conversations where we have made it very clear along with Congress and Defasio that this is quite important to us. So what you're asking, I'm doing. Thank you, Peter. Do you have a question for any of your opponents? Well, the question I have, I think is one that we all share and that is what would be your worst scenario of what would happen if the Senate flipped from 50-50 with the Democratic vice president to 51-49 with Senator McConnell as the majority leader. That's my nightmare for Vermont. Isaac, Nikki, would either of you like to respond? I'll drive to jump in. It's really important that we maintain control of the Senate. Democratic control is critical. We also need to be honest about the challenges that any potential Democratic nominee might have and the time to be honest about that is during the primary. When we're deciding who we are going to have represent the Democratic party in the general election, the Republicans aren't going to ignore the weaknesses of candidates. What voters want to see is the person who represents independent thinking and leadership who's not part of the entrenched system that's got us to where we are today. Thank you, Isaac. Nikki. Yeah, so I agree and I wasn't really sure what the question was in there, Peter, but... The question was what happens in your worst imagination if Mitch McConnell becomes the leader of the Senate? Right, the worst nightmare is that, plus getting rid of the filibuster and the Republicans passing laws as Democrats we are not in agreement with. And of course, that's our great nightmare. And I pledge that if I don't win this primary, I'm gonna work damn hard in all those states that we could lose a Democrat. And I'm gonna work really hard for the other Democrats running for Senate to make sure that we don't lose control, hopefully, of either house. Thanks, and Nikki, do you have a question for your opponents? All right, guys, how much have you spent so far on this election? I can't, we'll be doing our report July 15th and we'll be able to tell you then, but it's over a million dollars. Isaac? I've spent under $25,000 on this campaign so far. All right, thank you. And Isaac, you were able to pose a question to Peter. The others posed a question that both of you responded to. Is there something you wanna ask Nikki or the same question that you asked Peter? I'd actually like to ask a different question of Peter if that's okay. No, we're gonna, each of you had a chance to ask one question of both opponents, okay? So I don't wanna turn it into a tentative of two of you with the third person left out. I don't feel left out, it's fine. I'm happy to ask, is that okay if I go ahead and ask the congressman another question? No, I said that we would move on. We're going back to the prepared questions list. Wanna ask you? Okay, I do have a question for Nikki too. Okay, go ahead. Yeah, so Dr. Nikki, I know that you are an emergency room physician and you work in healthcare as I have worked for many years. I'm interested in how you think, what your thoughts are about healthcare and tell us more about your support or not support for universal public healthcare or Medicare for all, just kinda hear more about your thoughts on healthcare. Thanks Isaac for the question. We need a universal healthcare system. It needs to be rebranded. I don't really like Medicare for all. I think it's just got, I don't think it's very palatable. What I would like to see instead of just universal health insurance getting rid of private insurers, as I've said, that sector, the health insurance sector is too large to just get rid of. I would like to see it expanded. I would like more choices of health and types of health insurance, health insurance that covers if you want a private room or if you want massage or alternative healthcare, like acupuncture or massage, things that generally cost less that I know my patients utilize and should be covered and should be reimbursed. And I think I differ from you both a little bit in that respect. I just don't see a huge sector like healthcare insurance that employs many remonters being completely eliminated. Thank you, Dickey. I'm gonna go back to our prepared questions, one being very timely and relevant that I wanna make sure we cover and that is about the Supreme Court. So I believe we are starting with Peter on this one. I think I did, Nikki is the first one last time. So overturning Roe v. Wade has highlighted the direction of the current Supreme Court. What do you think is the way forward on the issue of abortion or choice? And do you think the Supreme Court has overreached in its powers? Who's the question to? You're up first, Peter. Oh, I'm sorry. I lost you, it froze a little bit but you're asking about the Supreme Court. What the Supreme Court did is catastrophic. It's devastating, start with Roe. Incredibly scary and rightly so for women. The day of that decision, I flew back from Washington and went to a rally in Burlington. And oftentimes at rallies when the government has done something really terrible, people are angry and people were angry there but they were really scared. This is the first time, the first time where the Supreme Court has stripped a woman of a constitutional right. Think about that. In the past, the court has helped to expand our rights to achieve our goal of equal treatment under the law in human dignity and freedom. In this court, strip that away. It's absolutely outrageous. And then think the same week, they stripped the legislature in New York of the ability to protect its citizens from concealed handguns. This is terrible. So this court in my view is out of control and everything has to be on the table as far as proceeding on this. We can take legislative action to restore women's reproductive freedom. In Vermont, we are all gonna have an opportunity to vote on Proposition 5. And of course I'm gonna vote for that. And in Congress, we had an opportunity to vote on the Women's Health Protection Act which I supported in a past in the House. And again, strong support from Bernie and Patrick but the filibuster is blocking us from reasserting that legislatively. But I see the Supreme Court as a partisan institution that's lost its credibility and has done something that is truly shocking. It has taken away a constitutional right that women have enjoyed for 50 years. Thank you, Peter. Isaac, same question. Do you think the Supreme Court has overreached? What is the path forward on the issue of abortion or choice? Absolutely. As your US Senator, I support protecting people who seek and provide abortions. And it's not just women here. People who have transgender experience too who are affected by this. I also wanna point out that having worked in community health centers as a reproductive health educator, having provided pregnancy tests and options counts going to countless people, I saw that it's not just the legal right to an abortion that makes a difference. People also have to have the means in order to get to the health center in order to access services. So it's an issue of justice too because it's oftentimes people of color, people of low income, low wealth, who are disenfranchised. So rogue versus Wade was the floor. That's not the ceiling of in terms of what's needed to access to care. Abortion is healthcare. Congress, the court has gone through, has gone against the established constitutional right to an abortion. What's been a constitutional right and defined as constitutional right for the last 50 years. Congress's job is to represent the people. A majority of Americans support the right to an abortion and Congress needs to listen to Americans. That's the job of Congress. As your senator, I will work to codify Roe v. Wade. I will work to ensure that people can travel to states where they can get an abortion in the meantime. In our system of checks and balances, if the Supreme Court fails, as a congressman has said it has and I agree, then Congress must act. This is a time when we need to organize. And I was protesting in Brattleboro to the day the decision was released. I've built and led coalitions that resulted in legislative victories in the face of major challenges. We did this by bringing communities together, finding common grounds. As a senator, I will take that same spirit of coalition building, of bringing people together and elevating the voices of everyday Americans, people who've been affected by this sort of ingest law to help us achieve the laws that we need to protect abortion rights. To address the threats to bodily autonomy, we need a different kind of leader in Washington. One who shows up for the people who will be most affected by the overturning of Roe, including young women, women of color, women of low wealth and LGBTQ plus women. We need one another at this time. As I said before, today it may be your body, but tomorrow it could be your marriage. It could be my marriage. We must stand with one another for our constitutional rights. Thank you, Isaac and Nikki. Has the Supreme Court overreached? What is the path forward on the issue of abortion or choice? So I've said publicly that when I was a freshman in college, I hadn't a portion. If I hadn't hadn't, I never would have gone to medical school. I never would have become a physician and I probably wouldn't be sitting here today. So it's personal for me. I do think they overreached. I think it's very unfair that five people have made this decision for millions of Americans. We have to, I would like to see the number of justices increased to 13, the same number of circuits there are in America. And I think the lifelong, we have to stop the lifelong, there should be limits on how long justices serve. We can attack this issue through the courts, take a lesson from what the Republicans did. To me, this is not separation of church and state. To me, this is a decision that was made by a Christian minority. And I would like to see it overturned on that basis alone. But we have, I think many avenues to pursue and I hope we pursue a lot of them simultaneously. Thank you for that. On my next question, I'll start with you, Isaac, about campaign finance reform. How much of a priority is campaign finance reform for you? What needs to happen next? What role would you play to get money out of politics? This is a major issue for me and one that I brought up in the last debate that we had. This is a matter of democracy, because the threats to democracy have certainly blown up and been exaggerated and so intense recently. But these go back and we have to get the big money out of our electoral system. One thing that we can do is by supporting public financing of campaigns. We can support advertising for candidates who get a certain amount of small dollar contributions and we can match those like we do in the state of Vermont. We can do that federally. We can also separate fundraising from lawmaking so that lobbyists who are donated have a hard time donating to candidates and that we can really get the influence, the undue influence of big money out of politics. This is why I am committed from the beginning of my campaign to not taking any corporate PAC money. As I've said before, it's concerning to me that the congressman has taken corporate PAC money for 15 years. I appreciate his commitment and his to not taking it these last few months. My concern is about the last 15 years and the money that's being spent now is from big corporate PACs. So that has an influence. It buys access and we need to be listening to the voices of everyday Vermonters to restore confidence in our government because in order to get those sort of reforms in terms of climate change, in terms of health care and controlling the pharmaceutical industry, we need to have the confidence of voters. That's where I stand on this. I am committed personally as well as in terms of my policy around campaign finance and rejecting that corporate money. Thank you, Isaac. Peter, let's have you respond next since you were named. Sure. There's been too much money in politics for too long but the decision that has made this so terrible is the Citizens United decision. I ran for Congress before Citizens United. And my opponent, Martha Rainbill, she and I made an agreement, no negative advertising. We were able to keep that. And it's the last campaign, contested campaign for Congress in the United States with no negative ads. Post-Citizens United. Mitch McConnell can raise hundreds of millions of dollars and half. He's got about $200 million in his super PAC. We don't know who the donors are. And he can spend that any way he wants, anywhere he wants, anytime he wants. That is why whatever we do, it is gonna require us to be effective to end Citizens United. That court that we have been talking about is the one, the Roberts Court that opened the doors for that avalanche of money. I was a sponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the house that would do a lot to get big money out of politics. When I was in the state Senate here, I supported campaign finance spending. I am. As the Congressman frozen for everyone. Paying finance reform, including by the way, public financing of campaigns, very, very important. But Citizens United has opened the doors to this unlimited amount of dark secret money that is used in very nefarious ways against democratic interest. Thank you, Peter. You did cut out for a second on the campaign finance reforms you have supported, but we heard the end of it. Could you do like a 10 second recap? Yeah, I have the support of End Citizens United. And I'm proud of that. And it reflects the fact that since my days in the state Senate here in Vermont and throughout my time in Congress, I've been a champion of public finance and campaign finance reform. Okay, thank you. And Nikki, your position on campaign finance reform as a priority, what should happen next? What role would you play to get money out of politics? Absolutely, we have to go back to McCain-Feingold, which preceded Citizens United. And that was a terrible, terrible decision. It's really hard to fight big money and big influence, but it is not democratic and election should not be bought and influence and power should not be bought. That is not the democracy or the America that I believe in and that I want in the future. Absolutely, we need financial reform, campaign finance reform. Thank you, Nikki. We have time for one final question. We'll start, I believe we're back to you as my first responder, Nikki. We will, I wanna ask about getting work done in Congress. So how can you deliver on promises to Vermonters given the current partisan composition? What do you expect will change after the midterm elections? How could you work in a bipartisan manner or two in a very partisan scenario? So the first thing I would do is meet with my opponents and I would bring Vermonters with me to those meetings and have them tell their personal stories of how legislation is affecting them. We need to get the real stories out there. And I think meeting face to face with those who you disagree with are how are you gonna forge solutions and how you're going to find compromise and common ground but attacking each other on social media or through ads is not gonna accomplish anything. We have to learn to work together. And I think in Vermont, we do that really, really well and we can lead the nation because we set an example of how people with differences get along, work together and live together. And we have to be the example for the rest of the country. Thank you, Peter. There's two ways I approach it. Number one, on matters of fundamental principle, I'm direct, I'm clear and frankly, I'm uncompromising. Woman's reproductive health is an example. You're right to vote, certification of the election. I'm firm, I'm clear, I'm direct and I stand up for what I know Vermonters believe. On other issues where there's room to come together in trying to solve problems that affect everybody whether you were in a district that voted for Trump or in a district that voted for Biden, I approach my colleagues by asking them, how is broadband in your district? How is telehealth in your district? How are the community hospitals doing in your district? And by engaging them on a topic where I know their constituents are as affected as ours here in Vermont, I'm able to build coalitions to get things done. Broadband is a good example. I created the broadband caucus. We had about 20 Republicans as well as 20 Democrats and we had to beat the drum because many of our urban colleagues just didn't get it how tough it was for us in rural America. On telehealth, it was the same thing. An Irene where we got all of that money and I was a single member of Congress. I was not on a committee of jurisdiction and I was in the minority, yet I was able to create a coalition of Republicans and Democrats who were affected by Irene. So what I do is build coalitions around achieving an outcome that's beneficial for people I represent here in Vermont and others represent in other parts of the country including Republican districts. Thank you. And Isaac, how will you work in the partisan landscape? We must find common ground with people whose politics are different than ours. That's a key reason that I was successful with leading the global COVID response coalition that secured $650 billion worth of emergency financial resources for 190 countries during the pandemic. That was the three times larger than the next release of any sort of that magnitude in history by the International Monetary Fund. And the way we did that was I worked with nuns and pastors from the Midwest, from the South. We brought together labor organizers, Republican farmers, had meetings with Senator Grassley and his staff, other senators and connected them with their members of Congress and we achieved real results that helped save lives and help boost the U.S. economy at the same time. I also will be successful because I keep my promises and lead with courage. Now just a couple of examples of this. When I was 17, Governor Howard Dean and I spoke to a group of 700 Vermont educators and policymakers and I told them why as a gay kid their support mattered. That was scary. It was just a few months after Matthew Shepard, a young gay man was murdered. When I was 36, a few weeks after Saudi Arabia murdered and dismembered a Washington Post journalist, I went to a house party where a Saudi prince was speaking. I challenged him in front of every guest on his country's bombing school buses, weddings, funerals and hospitals in neighboring Yemen. In both of those cases, coming out as gay challenging the Saudi prince, what was courageous was speaking truth. This is a time when truth is under attack and this is a time when we all need to be honest. In our earlier debate, Congressman, I challenge you on your support for basing the F-35 warplanes in the Burlington area against the will of residents. They had organized and voted to express their opposition and that debate I asked you about listening to voters. Okay. And in response, you said, I was quote, I was not involved in the decision about where those F-35s were located, end quote. But that was a Washington politicians response. It was misleading. The Burlington Free Press, the VT Digger, both reported in March of 2018 that you quote, supported from the sidelines and helped to deflect any public criticism that was from the VT Digger. And the Burlington Free Press reported that you stood by your decision to support the basing in South Burlington. So I think that Vermonters deserve a leader who will lead with integrity and who will tell the truth. Peter, would you like to hear about that? Sure, but is this the closing? Cause I got frozen out. Yeah, yeah. We're also about to wrap it up here. If you would like to. All right, well, you know, I'll come back to that. You know, I voted against the funding for the defense budget. I voted against the F-35. The basing decision was made by an independent commission. Bernie, Patrick and I all support the mission of the Guard and they've done great work during COVID. The concern that Burlington residents have, among others, is the noise. And that's real. I've heard that noise and we have all done everything we can and will continue to do that to encourage the Guard to meet with residents and to modify flight plans and also to do whatever mitigation can be done in the path and the flightway. So that is an ongoing challenge and it is tough for folks, but we've got the airport, the air, we have the air guard, the air guard needs planes and I support the mission of the Guard and really admire what they've done to help us get through COVID. But on this question of where, I'm not sure where we are in the debate. Are we gonna- Actually, so I'm sorry to cut you off. We are just about, we're actually at time. I know we're still recording. I'm not sure how this will air on TV, but I do wanna give everyone 30 seconds for a closing statement. Can we start with you, Congressman Welch? Yeah, you know, the term establishment has been thrown around, we're all Vermonters. I mean, it's already the big establishment in Vermont. And when I came to Vermont, I got out of law school, had a chance to work in Wall Street, had a chance to work on K Street. I worked on Bridge Street in White River Junction and I worked as a public defender and I'm really proud of that. I don't know many folks in the establishment who are public defenders. I served in the state Senate. It's a citizen legislature. I ran for Congress and I've been so happy to be able to help Vermonters, listen to Vermonters and be in a position to cast my vote on their behalf. And I look forward to the opportunity to continue my work on behalf of Vermont. Thank you. Dr. Nikki Thran, closing statement. I just wanna thank everybody who put this together tonight. I am running because healthcare is broken. I do believe that healthcare is a fundamental right for all Americans. And I would like to see the 28th amendment of the constitution say that healthcare is a right for everyone. And I pledge that if you send me to Washington I will represent all Vermonters. I'm very proud of the fact that I have Republican as well as Democratic support. So I ask for your support to make me that first female senator from the great state of Vermont. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Thran and Isaac Evan Francer closing statement. With that stake is our democracy, our climate, our housing, our healthcare, the individual rights that we cherish. The question is what kind of leadership do we want? We need leadership that will restore confidence of voters in our government. We need a movement leader who builds coalitions to change policies. A leader who elevates the voices of everyday Vermonters. We need a new voice and new leadership to confront the challenges that together we face. I'm from Vermont. I've traveled far, but I've never forgotten where I'm from. That's why I'm running. I wanna hear from you. I wanna reach out to you. If you believe that everyday people should have a voice in the US Senate, I invite you to support my campaign. Thank you. Thank you, Isaac. And with that, we are wrapping it up this evening. Don't forget to vote in the primary on August 9th. Early voting by mail or in person is available now by contacting your town clerk's office. And polls will be open August 9th from seven to seven. Thank you so much for watching and thank you candidates for being here.