Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, Democrat Caitlin Draper and Libertarian Bobby Wilson discussed a range of policy issues in a debate broadcast by Arkansas PBS on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. (Screenshot/PBS livestream)
The extent to which the federal government should be involved in Arkansans’ lives drove the discussion between the three candidates for Arkansas’ 3rd Congressional District during a televised debate Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, a Republican from Rogers, has been in Congress since 2011 and is seeking an eighth term. He faces Fayetteville social worker Caitlin Draper, a Democrat, and Bentonville businessman Bobby Wilson, a Libertarian. All three participated in press conferences after the debate, broadcast by Arkansas PBS.
The 3rd Congressional District comprises more than 750,000 Northwest Arkansas residents.
Womack said the federal government should either not get involved or not expand its existing roles in abortion policy, housing affordability or public benefits. Wilson frequently agreed with Womack that the federal government should have its limits and said the two-party system is ineffective. Draper often disagreed with this sentiment, saying members of Congress have certain responsibilities to the public.
When asked what could be done federally to make housing more affordable, Womack said “it’s not a conservative position to ask the government to come in” and solve a local issue.
Draper said Northwest Arkansas’ rising cost of living has created a housing crisis.
“We have nurses and social workers that cannot afford a place to live,” Draper said. “…It’s absolutely a problem that Congress needs to help solve. You do represent your local community. That’s what [your] job is.”
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Wilson called himself “kind of an expert” on housing since he manages a company that supplies and installs trim and doors for new residential construction. He said the building market is too consolidated and “the market will provide” if the government is less involved.
“Everybody talks a big game… but the solution is really just to let people build,” he said.
The trio butted heads again over abortion policy. Arkansas has banned abortion in all cases except for a threat to the life of the mother since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and left the matter up to the states.
Womack and Wilson agreed that the issue belongs in statehouses, and Wilson added that he believes “both parties have profited” from the debate.
Draper said the abortion ban has directly impacted her life. When she had a miscarriage due to an ectopic pregnancy in April, her doctor told her she was unlikely to receive care from an emergency room without leaving the state, she said.
“I do not profit from the threat of my death,” she said. “…Women all over the country are dying, we know their names [and] we know where they live. Pushing it to the states is not the answer when the states cannot be trusted to protect our lives.”
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Following the Dobbs decision, then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued a statement clarifying that Arkansas’ “trigger law” does not affect ectopic pregnancy treatment.
Arkansas is the only state that has taken no action to adopt the federal policy to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months after birth. Draper called this “the most pro-life” policy option and mentioned that Republicans often say Arkansas is the most pro-life state.
State officials have said adopting this policy would be “redundant” since the state has other insurance coverage options for postpartum low-income Arkansans. Similarly, in his post-debate press conference, Womack said there are several existing programs to help pregnant Arkansans access health care.
Draper said Womack also voted against the Violence Against Women Act and the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, the latter of which financially benefits Arkansas.
Womack has also voted against funding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Draper said after moderators asked whether the agency should receive more funding in light of Hurricane Helene and the upcoming Hurricane Milton.
The federal government has other sources of disaster relief besides FEMA, but overall it has a responsibility to help victims of natural disasters, Womack said.
Draper mentioned that more FEMA funding could have directly aided victims of the tornadoes that killed seven people and damaged property in northern Arkansas, including in Rogers, earlier this year.
Wilson said the government “shouldn’t have to be funding for people that build in hurricane alleys.” He also said the solution to the multitrillion-dollar federal budget deficit is to spend less on Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, all of which are programs serving low-income and elderly Americans.
Draper said she would not support cuts to those programs if elected. Womack agreed with Wilson that the government spends too much money on entitlements, but he took issue with Wilson’s stance on hurricane aid.
“Pray that you’re not in the path of a tornado or a hurricane if Bobby Wilson’s in charge, because you’ve got no help coming,” Womack said.
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In his closing statement, Womack said he stands for “limited government, lower taxes, fewer regulations, a strong national defense and a secure border.”
Draper described herself as “an average citizen” in a “Walmart suit” who chose to run for office because her social work career has shown her how existing policies hurt everyday Arkansans. She also said Womack is “not the right guy” to represent the 3rd Congressional District.
“He puts his party before the needs of Arkansans time and time again, vote and vote again,” she said.
Wilson said in his closing statement that he invites citizens to “throw away your vote” by supporting him.
“When it comes to the budget, when it comes to immigration, when it comes to health care, both parties have consistently dropped the ball, [and] I don’t see any way out of it except opting out of the system,” he said in his press conference.
The candidates also discussed immigration, election integrity, the Israel-Hamas war, the medical marijuana industry’s access to the banking system, and name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation for college athletes.
The full debate and the candidates’ press conferences can be viewed here.
Arkansas PBS will livestream the 4th Congressional District candidates’ debate Thursday. The network conducted the 2nd District debate Monday and the 1st District debate Tuesday.