Central KY GOP candidates differ on everything

In their first televised debate, the two Republicans running for congress in Central Kentucky took opposite views on just about every topic: immigration, a proposed gas tax holiday, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler and even presumptive GOP presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain.

The two 6th district Republican candidates seeking to — Lexington lawyer Jon Larson and Frankfort-based businessman Tony McCurdy — differed most sharply on immigration during their KET debate Monday night.

“We have to seal our borders and only let legal immigrants in, find out who’s in our country and find out what their intentions are,” said McCurdy, who added he favored tougher penalties on companies who hire workers without proper visas.

Larson, however, said he sees immigrants not as a burden but as “America-seekers.”
“We can’t deport 12 million people, we don’t have the resources,” he said. “It would hurt our economy.”

Larson said such views are  in line with McCain’s.

McCurdy, meanwhile, said he would likely disagree with “20 to 30 percent” of policies from a McCain administration but will begrudgingly vote for him for president anyway.

McCurdy also slammed Chandler, who is seeking his third full term, for endorsing U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential race, saying it was a move that went against the polls showing U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the preferred choice of Kentucky Democrats.

Larson said he believed backing Obama was Chandler’s right before offering a back-handed compliment.

“I’m almost proud of the incumbent for taking a stand,” Larson said. “I don’t recognize that he’s ever taken a serious stand on any controversial issue before.”

On the issue of gas prices, Larson — who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general last year — said he considered the plan to suspend the 18.4-cent per gallon this summer “a gimmick.”

But he added that he liked it anyway.

But McCurdy said the best way to address oil prices would be to increase the supply by allowing more drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

McCurdy, who runs McCurdy Electronic Security in Frankfort, lives across the Franklin-Shelby County line and is a resident of the 2nd congressional district. He can still run because congressional election rules just require candidates to be residents of the state in which they are seeking office.

- Ryan Alessi