Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Challenger Anne Barth debate at Musselman High School -- Photo: Martinsburg Journal

The two candidates vying for the Second District Congressional seat engaged in a frank and, at times, heated debate Wednesday night over the issues important to voters. 

Incumbent Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito and her Democrat Challenger Anne Barth squared off at Musselman High School before a packed audience.  The debate was sponsored and moderated by MetroNews Affiliate WEPM Radio and the Martinsburg Journal.

Here are highlights of their exchanges:

ON TAX CUTS:

Barth -- "Whose turn is it for help and who's been getting it?  The answer is those who've been needing it the least."

Capito -- "Tax relief and lowering taxes is the only way we're going to be able to stimulate this economy.  Now is not the time to be going back in and raise taxes."

ON THE FEDERAL BAILOUT OF WALL STREET:

Barth -- "It would have been a bitter pill, but I would have voted for the bailout because to take no action would have been irresponsible."

Capito -- "Four days is too little time, too much money, not enough taxpayer protection, not enough oversight.  Besides the face I had more than 700 calls into my office that were divided between 'No' and 'Heck, no.'"

ON GUN CONTROL:

Barth -- "I'm a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and I'll tell you something else, I'm a strong supporter of the Constitution in general."

Capito -- "I am concerned that our Constitutional rights are being chipped away at.  One of these being our Second Amendment rights.  One of these being our rights to private property."

ON NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING:

Barth -- "It doesn't hurt me, I can take it.  But it does a disservice to you the voters who are trying to make a decision based on where we stand on the issues."

Capito -- "I have served, I think, with great integrity in this office.  I am very insulted, really, when I see an insinuation or trying to say that my vote is for sale."

ON HEALTHCARE:

Barth -- "There's no reason why we haven't been able to work on this problem.  It is complex and it is complicated.  My guiding principles are that, nobody should have to leave a plan that they like.  No one should be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.  We ought not to tax workers for their healthcare benefits."

Capito -- "To hold back any cuts to Medicare, to make sure that any relook at Medicare, Medicaid, or the government paying healthcare system is done in a sensible way.  So that we can have the broad coverage we need for our seniors.  They deserve it and in most cases they pay for it.  This is the first year in a longtime that the Medicare premium has not gone up and that's good news for seniors."

ON ENERGY:

Barth -- "I think it's important that we drill domestically.  The moratorium on offshore drilling was lifted at the end of September, I think it's important that we begin drilling there.  I'd like to see the royalties should go to shore up the Highway Trust Fund which is bankrupt and had to be bailed out itself here recently."

Capito -- "It expands drilling on the outer continental shelf.  I happen to believe that we can expand drilling into Alaska.  I voted that way, but this is not in that bill because we were trying to find the common ground that Republicans and Democrats could agree on.  With the royalties we invest in renewables.  We invest in coal to liquid.  We invest in ‘LIHEAT’, which is the heating assistance for folks who are lower income or having difficult paying their heating bills."

You can hear the responses to the questions by clicking the icon above.  Audio courtesy of WEPM Radio.