5 Takeaways From The GOP Senate Primary Debate: Race To Replace Booker

The four candidates looking to unseat Senator Cory Booker this November discussed an array of global and local issues during a Thursday night debate.

The four men, seeking the Republican nomination this primary season, took part in an hour-long debate put on by the New Jersey Globe and Rider University.

Robert Lebovics, Justin Murphy, Richard Tabor, or Alex Zdan, if elected in November, would break a 54-year losing streak of Republicans losing a Senate seat in New Jersey.

More: Meet The GOP Candidates Looking To Unseat Senator Cory Booker

The debate, moderated by New Jersey Globe reporter Zack Blackburn, covered issues including healthcare, foreign relations, and immigration, to name a few.

Here are five key takeaways from Thursday night’s debate:

1. The War In Iran

Kicking off Thursday evening’s conversation was the question of whether the candidates would demand that President Donald Trump first seek congressional authorization before deploying troops on the ground in Iran.

Tabor, a U.S. Army and National Guard veteran who was deployed in Iraq, said if Trump decides U.S. troops need to go to Iran, “We have to go.”

“Iran has been bombing embassies. They've been bombing troops. They've been bombing bases. They've been bombing everything they possibly can. And then they try to go get nukes,” Tabor said. “The president is doing everything he can to keep the American people safe. And that's why I support him in the decision that he makes because he is our commander-in-chief, and we have to stand with him so that he can protect America.”

Conversely, Zdan, an investigative journalist, says Iran should not be the focus of foreign policy efforts; they should be on China.

“There should be no troops on the ground in the current situation in Iran. We do not need another ‘forever’ war in the Middle East,” he said. “Our focus as a nation should be on the Chinese Communist Party that is menacing the Pacific basin and is our number one geopolitical enemy… I pray that our men and women have continued safety over there with our blockade, which is correctly enforcing that zone around the Straight of Hormuz. But there should be a discussion about negotiations before we do anything else, which is exactly what President Trump is doing.”

Both Lebovics and Murphy, who is also a US military veteran, said they would continue to support Trump’s efforts in the Middle East, and that they would support congressional approval before further moves are made to that regard.

2. New ICE Detention Center In NJ

The conversation later turned to whether candidates would support the embattled ICE detention center that the federal government is trying to build in Roxbury. The facility has been met with great bipartisan resistance from both state officials and Roxbury town leaders.

More — NJ ICE Jail Plans Put On Hold: Here's Why

Murphy, a self-employed attorney, says that while he believes that Roxbury officials need to be “transparently” involved with any federal decision-making with regard to the facility, illegal immigration to the Garden State is a problem that needs to be addressed.

“We have a problem here with illegal immigration, and we're dealing with it now, and the Trump administration is dealing with it in the correct fashion,” he said. “What I would like to see discussed with all stakeholders and interested parties at every level, federal and local, is that we can maybe create a facility for ICE detention, but a temporary facility, not building something that's going to be around in perpetuity.”

Murphy suggested using a military installation somewhere else in the state as a temporary immigration facility that can be “deconstructed” once the need for it is gone, stopping it from becoming a “long-term eyesore.”

Tabor, a retired NJ state trooper, says a priority of his, if elected, would be getting ICE and law enforcement working together. With regard to the facility, Tabor said it was of the utmost importance that the people of Roxbury want the detention center there before it’s abruptly built.

“We want to make sure that the people are voting for that. We don't want to just put something in their area that they don't want because at the end of the day, as a US senator, we work for the people,” Tabor said. “So, we have to ensure that they want it there before we put it there. And I will work with the president. I will work with the local officials. I will work with everyone. But at the end of the day, we have to make sure the people are comfortable.”

Zdan’s sentiments echoed Murphy’s and Tabor’s, saying that while the feds should be cooperating with Roxbury officials, he is not opposed to building more ICE detention centers in the Garden State.

Lebovics said that if the federal government finds a need for that facility in that space, ideally, some sort of compromise would be obtained. He added that he does not “see it as a major issue, pro or con, in this campaign.”

3. Healthcare

One question touched on healthcare affordability, specifically citing the Affordable Care Act marketplace’s rising costs and the cessation of federal subsidies for the program. Blackburn asked candidates if they would allow the market to “adjust on its own,” or if they’d rather support the government “continuing to help working families afford this private health insurance.”

Lebovics, an otolaryngologist, or ear/nose/throat doctor, said that there are three main circles that need to be focused on with regard to healthcare: “quantity, quality, and cost.”

“The question ultimately is ‘How do we bring all three into the picture here?’” he said. “And my answer on a simple level, and then I can expand on it if there's ever time, is you have to triangulate. Hold everything you have now. I don't want to give up on quantity, quality, or cost. You have to find ways to add… Most of these people who are going to lose the subsidies will probably end up on some type of state subsidy. Now, if you want to call that Medicaid, yes. So there's always an insurance of last resort.”

Zdan highlighted a major point of his campaign in his answer, which is providing all Americans with health savings accounts, something he says 90 percent of Americans do not have.

“We're going to make sure that there are health savings accounts for all. A bank account where you can put pre-tax money to use not just for medical care but for wellness care and preventative care,” Zdan said. “You will be better off when I am in the United States Senate working with President Trump on the great American health care plan to make health care truly affordable for all.”

Tabor said that the Affordable Care Act, in its most recent form, helped poor residents, hardly affected rich residents, but left the middle class vulnerable. He said he’d work “across the aisle” to come to a solution if elected.

Murphy echoed Zdan’s plan, saying providing medical savings accounts to Americans would limit medical inflation, which he calls “the highest hurdle for access to our health care system.”

4. Tariffs

The conversation eventually turned to Trump’s embattled tariffs, with Blackburn specifically asking if candidates would support a robust tariff system, even if those tariffs increase domestic consumer prices.

Zdan used the question to steer back to his former point, and again, a campaign highlight of his, of establishing health savings accounts for all Americans. He says he would support the tariffs and wants to use any proceeds from them to fund these accounts.

“Imagine money in your account to enable you to take care of a loved one, enable you to get your children preventative care, even enable you to make yourself healthier by buying healthier food,” he said. “This is what we need to do. This is the kind of individual bolstering that I represent. Someone who has a deep respect for individual rights.”

Murphy said he strongly supports Trump’s tariff plan, adding that “we've had low rates of inflation” since he enacted the policies.

“We just want to inject some parity and equilibrium into the tariff relationship with our trading partners. There's nothing wrong with that,” he said. “It's not only tariffs, but having the right system of taxation and the right regulatory schematic and structure is what will attract business, industrial business to the United States so that it can stay here, start here, grow here, and benefit our middle class.”

Tabor said that he also supports the tariffs so long as it gets to a point where “it would work out for America,” adding that the “world has robbed us blind” before the policies.

Lebovics also expressed support, saying the tariffs “force a re-industrialization of the American heartland because then it will again be palatable and profitable to have products built here.”

5. Multi-issue ‘Handraising Round’

In an attempt to conserve time, Blackburn asked a series of “lightning round”-style questions, during which the candidates would raise their hands if they agreed with the statement. See the questions and who raised their hands below:

a.) Raise your hand if you'd support impeaching federal judges who regularly strike down President Trump's executive orders.

• Raised hand:
• Did not raise hand: Tabor, Murphy, Zdan, Lebovics

b.) Raise your hand if you would vote to commit American forces to defend a NATO ally attacked by Russia.

• Raised hand: Tabor, Murphy, Zdan, Lebovics
• Did not raise hand:

c.) Raise your hand if you would support a bill banning abortion nationally.

• Raised hand:
• Did not raise hand: Tabor, Murphy, Zdan, Lebovics

d.) Raise your hand if you think Donald Trump has done more for the Republican party than Ronald Reagan.

• Raised hand: Lebovics, Tabor
• Did not raise hand: Murphy, Zdan

e.) Raise your hand if you would support a bill severely limiting mail-in voting.

• Raised hand: Tabor, Murphy, Zdan, Lebovics
• Did not raise hand:

f.) Raise your hand if you would support President Trump using military force to restore democracy in Cuba before he leaves office.

• Raised hand: Tabor, Murphy, Lebovics, Zdan (Zdan clarified “with congressional authorization”)
• Did not raise hand:

g.) Raise your hand if you'd promise to permanently restore the SALT deduction even if the White House and Republican leaders in the Senate asked you not to.

Raised hand: Tabor, Murphy, Lebovics, Zdan
Did not raise hand:

Each candidate was then given 60 seconds to provide any clarifications or nuance to their responses.

Other topics mentioned throughout the debate included funding to Ukraine, Israel relations, and the Department of Justice’s $1.7 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund.” To view the debate in its entirety, click here.

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The Primary Election is June 2.

Editor's Note — During the handraising portion, the inquiry: "Raise your hand if you would seek to replace John Thune as Republican leader," was disrupted, and a clear answer was not provided by any candidates. (See video — 51:45)