Collin County Republican Congressman Van Taylor, Democrat Luly Seikaly Compete In 3rd District Race
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - For weeks, both Democratic challenger Lulu Seikaly and Republican incumbent Van Taylor have been attacking each other in TV ads as they compete for the 3rd Congressional District in Collin County.
As a former state lawmaker, Taylor points to his record in the Texas Legislature and on Capitol Hill working with Democrats.
"I'm a member of the problem solver caucus. That's 25 Republicans and 25 Democrats, we work across the aisle, trying to fix the institution and derive real solutions to real problems that confront everyday Americans," said Rep. Taylor.
Seikaly though said, "He can be a member of the problem solvers caucus. I commend him for doing that to try and work across the aisle. But the fact of the matter is, his voting record is 95% of the time voting with Donald Trump. That is not bipartisan."
When it comes to the coronavirus, both Seikaly and Taylor disagree about the Trump administration's response.
"We've implemented the largest testing program in the history of man, it's not big enough, but it's still the greatest one that the world has ever seen. I think every American should be proud of that accomplishment. I want to give credit where credit's due to the administration for coming with the idea of testing and manufacturing at the same time. This has never been done before," said Rep. Taylor.
Seikaly disagreed.
"Dismal at best. When you had 220,000 Americans die, because of this administration's response, and almost 17,000 Texans die because of this administration and my opponent's response, we know that this is not a good response," she said.
Seikaly has criticized Taylor for opposing the Affordable Care Act, which has protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
She said she supports an option for the public to buy into Medicare.
"My concern right now is making sure that we cover as many people as possible and making health care as affordable as possible. As of now, I don't believe in getting rid of private health insurance companies. I believe that the public option is a great first step to see how the system can work. And then, you know, let's go from there," Seikaly said.
Taylor said he supports protecting people with pre-existing conditions even though he opposes the Affordable Care Act.
"The Affordable Care Act had missed the mark so badly, that the number one complaint that I got, as a member of Congress last year was what are you going to do to lower the cost health care? It's too expensive."
During last week's Presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden said he favors transitioning from the oil industry and a net zero emissions plan by 2050.
Both Seikaly and Taylor differ over the impact Biden's policy would have on energy jobs.
Taylor said, "I think destroying an entire industry would be a terrible mistake. The United States has had a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the last several decades. That's helped by using better technology and be more efficient, and so I think we need to continue the trend."
Seikaly said oil industry workers will receive help.
"We're going to have a great plan moving forward with those creation of those subsidies to make sure that we're training those people into those clean, renewable energy jobs. We know that renewable energy is going to create thousands of jobs," she said.
The northern Dallas suburbs have been trending more purple.
The Cook Political Report previously moved this race from "Likely Republican" to "Lean Republican."
So while Congressman Taylor still holds the advantage, the race is considered more competitive now.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEWS WITH THE TWO CANDIDATES HERE
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