Lieutenant Governor candidates have debate ahead of Midterm elections

COLUMBIA,SC (WOLO)- Two women hoping to be South Carolina’s next Lieutenant Governor faced off in their first and only debate ahead of the November 6 election.

Republican business woman Pamela Evette and Democratic State Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell disagreed on a number of issues during Monday nights debate.

Evette is a newcomer to politics, but says that gives her an advantage.

“I think anytime you bring a fresh perspective into something, you see things with new eyes, clearer eyes,” Evette said. “I think that’s a huge advantage.”

Powers-Norrell, who has years of experience in politics, thinks otherwise.

“I always think it’s so funny when people argue for inexperience as equaling fresh ideas,”Norrell said. “If you need to get your car worked are you going to go to somebody whose never worked on a car because they may have a fresh idea on how to fix your car? No! You’re going to go to somebody who worked on a car before because they know how to do it. That’s what experience is. I will have no on the job training because I’ve been working in government for over 20 years.”

Both women clashing on healthcare. Powers-Norrell said that she and Smith will expand Medicaid.

“Even when funding is necessary it will be a 1 to 9 match,” Norrell said. “We will only have to provide 10( of the funding in 2020. But right now we can do it with absolutely no cost to tax payers.”

“That right there, is something that would scare every accountant that is sitting right here in SC,” Evette siad. “That the bill is coming and we’ll figure out how to pay for it when it gets here.”

“This is our money,” Norrell said. “This is already money that we have paid to the federal government. They are asking us if we want it back, and we are saying no thank you federal government, you can keep our money. That’s like refusing your own income tax refund. Nobody does that, because that would be stupid.”

“That is only half of this equation,” Evette said. “Is that the federal government is going to give us money. The other half of that equation is that we’re going to have to come up with money to give back to them. It is a bill that they will send us that we will have to pay. What we’re not saying is where are we going to get that money. Cause if we we’re going to take that money from education, higher education or infrastructure, or DSS, we’re going to have to take it away from them or raise people’s taxes.”>

The candidates also disagreeing when it came to what can be done to make South Carolina a better state.

“I am happy to come in as lieutenant governor and work with our governor, and use what I can bring from my business background and help South Carolina grow,” Evette said.

“Henry McMaster hasn’t gotten anything done in that majority Republican legislature, just cause he’s a Republican. It’s not about partisanship, it’s about relationships,” Norrell said. “James Smith and I have the relationships in the general assembly to get things done.”