By Rebekah L. Sanders
The Arizona Republic
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Barber and Republican opponent Martha McSally jabbed at each other Tuesday over Medicare, education and the economy during the last debate of southern Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District race.
Barber, 67, repeatedly accused McSally, 46, of “waffling” on her stances since the primary, saying her original positions hurt southern Arizonans, while McSally repeatedly countered that his attacks were “distortions” and “what’s wrong with politics.”
Their criticisms of each other and forceful answers frequently prompted applause from supporters in the audience of about 200. The televised debate, held at the University of Arizona, was hosted by the college and Tucson’s public television station.
Both McSally and Barber decried negative campaign ads by outside groups, despite both benefiting from hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in the district by their national parties and other groups.
Barber is running for re-election after winning a June special election to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords resigned this year to recover from a 2011 assassination attempt near Tucson.
Also: Antenori, Bradley joust over how AZ fell into a $3 billion hole over 3 years/Arizona Daily Star
[EDITORIAL] Walsh a proven fit for the job/The Arizona Republic
