Major funding for election 2026 Arkansas TV debates is provided by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

From the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in the studios of Arkansas TV, it's election 2026.

Arkansas TV Debates and budget.

In five, 4321.

And hello again, everyone, and welcome back to Debate Week here on Arkansas TV.

At this hour, the candidates for Congress in Arkansas's third district.

And they are in alphabetical order.

Rob Roy, RC the Democratic candidate.

Bobby Wilson, the libertarian nominee.

And Steve Womack, the Republican Party nominee and the incumbent, questioning the candidates this hour.

Joe Ellison of KFC in Springdale.

Brandon Evans of 40, 29, in Rogers.

And Doug Warner of k n w a Fayetteville.

Quick review of our rules.

Each nominee will have one minute to respond to a question.

The candidates will have, in order 30s for rebuttal if they elect to use it.

That's a conclusion of questioning each candidate will have one minute for a closing statement.

As always, the order of candidate appearance was determined prior to the debate with the drawing of a number which was observed by the candidates themselves or their representatives.

And now that we've taken care of that, we begin with our questioning.

Our first is from Miss Allison.

It goes to Rob Reiner.

C thank you.

How do you think the current administration is handling immigration?

Border security?

What kind of change would you champion?

Well, thank you so much.

And thanks to Arkansas TV for the opportunity to be a part of this debate.

You know, I imagine that those of you who are watching at home are asking yourselves a couple of questions.

Who cares about me and what my family is going through, and what are you going to do about it?

Through the course of this debate, you're going to hear a couple of different perspectives and approaches.

Congressman Womack is going to talk about how we need to have limited government, and how that means there's not going to be a lot for you and your family.

But if you're a billionaire or a bigwig, he's got a tax cut for you.

I'm going to talk about the things that matter to you, how you need a representative in Washington, D.C., especially if you are an immigrant family, someone who will make sure that ice isn't knocking down your door, ripping your family apart.

We go now to Mr.

Wilson.

One minute.

Immigration is one of those things where I think the voters have been pretty clear that they they want less of it.

And, I think the way the administration has handled it is very, very brutish, very brutal.

I would like to, you know, see, many more of their, like, more of the there's a lot of federal programs and subsidies that support immigrants and refugees.

And I think if we just a lot of those cut those, then we create a lot of the incentive for, immigrants coming here and staying here.

And, and many ways we do need to, you know, enforce the border.

But I just think there's a far less brutal way to handle it.

Mr.

Womack, one minute.

Well, the question was about illegal immigration, and how this administration is performing, on that subject.

And let me just tell you, all you got to do is having visited the the southern border, as I have, a couple of times, and to be witness to the fact that under the Biden administration, millions of people were just literally walking across the border and, coming into our country and then disappearing into the shadows.

It's quite the contrast now.

The Trump administration and Homeland Security have shut down that border.

We don't have near the incursions along the southern border that we once had, and that has limited the infiltration of, you know, people involved in child trafficking or drug trafficking and the like.

So I give the administration very high marks for how they've handled immigration.

On internal enforcement.

We still have a long way to go.

There are still a lot of people, many of them very bad people that have committed, horrendous crimes that still need to be discovered and deported.

High marks for the administration.

Mr.

Rogers, you have 30s, sir.

Congress has allocated $75 billion in new money for Ice.

Most of that is earmarked to build new detention centers.

I think we could spend that money much better than building detention centers.

It needs to be invested in asylum judges, staff that can process immigration applications.

We need to have the infrastructure that makes immigration easier, not more detention centers.

Mr.

Wilson 30s.

See, I've been listening since I've been paying attention to politics.

We've been having the same immigration debate for the past, you know, 25, 30 years.

And I just it's one of those things that somebody that's outside of the two party system, it's really clear to see that they just don't really have any incentive of making it, you know, a better system that fits with our American values and helps us grow as a country.

Mr.

Womack, another 30 well, on this subject, I've been very outspoken about the the need for us to shut down the southern border so that we can at least concentrate on some of the other internal enforcement mechanisms that we still need a lot of, a lot of work to do.

But I have a track record on it.

I was one of the first mayors in the country back in 2007, when I was mayor of Rogers, that, put my police officers through a 287 G program.

And so, you know, it's pretty clear that up here on this platform that I'm the candidate right now that, does indeed, you know, pursue, border security and internal enforcement in our country.

Next question from, Brandon Evans.

And it goes first to Mr.

Wilson.

Affordability remaining a key topic for many people, and the cost of goods and services from the groceries we pay to the utilities to gas prices.

How is it a U.S.

congressman?

Can you work with each other and the president to try and lower these costs for Americans that are struggling?

First off, when it comes to lowering costs is we think of Price's wrong prices as an information that helps us figure out where we have problems within our system.

So a lot of times, price isn't necessarily the thing we should be looking at.

The main thing is some things cost so much is because we're running, massive deficits, you know, $2 trillion, 40 trillion in debt.

It works out to like, every child is born with 120 grand of debt just attached to them, if you want to divide it evenly.

And we all pay for that.

And that's where, you know, the inflation comes from as as Milton Friedman said, the budget is always balanced.

So whenever there's a deficit it's made up through inflation.

So everything just costs more because, Congress can't pass a budget.

They just do reconciliation bill after reconciliation bill.

And if you want to get costs down, the government just needs to quit spending and get their budget in order.

One minute for Mr.

woman.

Well, let's begin with the, working families tax cut.

The big beautiful bill is a lot of people refer to it.

I voted for that bill.

I stand by my vote on that bill because what we did was we saved everybody on this platform and probably in this audience.

And watching today a massive tax, hike that would have happened had those 2017 tax cuts not been made permanent.

And then, of course, we took action to, save on, taxes, on tips and on overtime and for certain Social Security recipients.

So let's begin with the fact that we've saved a lot of Americans a big tax hike.

On top of all that.

Look, I get it.

Gas prices are high.

Home.

Home prices are high.

Everything is affected by our energy.

Problems.

And we can do a much better job if we can unleash the potential of the American energy supply system, this ecosystem, build more refineries, and then be able to handle energy, in a much more cost effective way right here at home.

So all of those have inputs into the affordability issues facing Americans.

Mr.. IRA, say one minute everything costs too much and you feel it from gas to groceries, housing to health care, everything costs too much.

And this administration in this Congress is to blame for that.

There's three specific reasons why everything costs too much.

Number one is the war in Iran.

The war in Iran has cost has caused the price of gasoline and diesel to skyrocket, which has driven up the price of everything.

Number two is Donald Trump's chaotic tariff war.

Donald Trump has caused the price of everything to go up because of the tariffs he's imposed.

And number three, major corporations throughout this country have been posting record profits.

And I wonder if they've been doing that by price gouging American families.

Congress has not acted like it should, and you are the ones paying the price.

To Mr.

Wilson 30s.

So again, we've we've seen this, when we go back to 2020, the Democrats had full control of the House, the Senate and the presidency, and we had massive debts and massive inflation.

And we had a a war in Ukraine that, skyrocketed costs.

And then now during the Trump administration, it's like Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day again.

Massive, massive inflation, massive deficits and a roar.

Now a war now in Iran.

Mr.

Womack 30s.

You know, I I'm going to agree with both of my opponents on certain, portions of this debate about affordability, because certainly high gas prices have impacted affordability and and deficits and debt certainly impact affordability.

And there are things that we can do in Congress.

But I'm going to refer back to the big beautiful bill and the things that we did that helped small business, made those individual income tax rates permanent, and allow small businesses, to have better, R&D opportunities and at the same time be able to expand over time and take those immediate expenses and, create jobs for Americans.

Mr.. Right.

Early 32nd.

It's amazing that Congressman Womack would celebrate the one big, beautiful bill, which is one of the most unpopular pieces of legislation in American history.

If we are going to do something about the cost of everything we need to stop the war in Iran, we need to stop the tariff chaos, and we need to stop price gouging.

Congress can do those things.

This Congress has not done those things.

I will work for you when I represent you in Washington, DC.

Doug Warner has the next question, and it goes first to Mr.

Womack.

Gentlemen, good to see you all.

A lot of my questions today are viewer submitted, and there's a common theme with a lot of them.

They are just absolutely exhausted with the polarization in this country, the divide that continues to grow.

And I give one example and you can kind of work off that.

We see a lot of federal judges many times at this point, Democrat appointed judges, especially now during the Trump administration.

We saw something similar in previous administrations, issuing temporary halts to many of his executive orders and other actions.

Do you what?

Gibbs here.

Do you consider this judicial overreach or interfering with government, or is it the white House right now that's causing this overreach?

And what's the fix?

Because this is just one of many issues that they feel exhausted over.

Great question.

And let me tell you, duck, polarization is an issue that I talk about a lot because I'm witness to it.

You know, you got about 400 safe seats in Congress held by the respective parties.

General elections don't really matter much except for maybe 30 or 35 seats.

So what ends up happening is you you settle a lot of these things in a polarized sort of way based on what the what the party wants.

Congress has abdicated its responsibility.

We've talked about budgets just a minute ago.

We haven't we haven't done meaningful budgets.

What is important is that we accept the fact that we took an oath to support and defend the Constitution and go back to those principles of three separate but equal branches of government to include the legislative branch and our article one authority to be able to produce budgets and to be able to control the power of the purse.

Too much of that has been ceded to the administration, and then too much of what the administration has done has been checked by the judicial branch.

Better return to the respect for the separation of powers is one of those answers.

One minute for Mister Rogers saying polarization is a huge problem.

I have been a a pastor for 30 years, and I have walked with people through the process of having difficult conversations with family members.

I've experienced that myself, that when relationships end because of politics, it really shouldn't be that way.

I think that we need to recover our shared value of faith.

When I talk about faith, I'm not talking about what we believe on Sunday morning.

I'm talking about our ability to believe in each other, to trust each other, to have conversations with each other.

And if we are going to expect the federal government to get along.

And I know that is a high expectation to have.

I think we need to start at home, in our homes, in our communities, in our neighborhoods.

We are the ones who can dial back the temperature and bring an end to the polarization in our country.

Mr.

Wilson, you have one minute.

I think the the solution is, I mean, clearly, but libertarian, I think in general, freedom, freedom of speech and, it's kind of messy, right?

We want people to express our opinions, and we want people to, you know, engage in conversation and debate.

And what comes out of it sometimes isn't pretty.

And I don't think we need to run away from it or, avoid it.

It's just kind of the what's the process that we have for in this republic, as a solution to this in general, in the same way that when you run a business, a chart of accounts can really control what happens in a business.

The same thing is with the government.

The, Congress has the power of the purse.

And I agree with Congressman Womack that Congress has completely abdicated their responsibility.

All right.

And it's a both party thing, and they just need to pass a budget, and people need to be able to vote.

They need the congressmen need to be able to vote up and down what they actually believe, and everything needs to be accounted for.

Mr.

Beaumont, back to you for 30.

Doug, as a representative for the third district of Arkansas, I put my mayor's hat on a lot.

I was a mayor for 12 years in a high growth area in northwest Arkansas.

In my approach as a mayor was to work for solutions, try to find a way to get to yes on things that that might even divide us.

I apply that same mentality to working on both sides of the aisle with my colleagues in Congress.

As an appropriator, I have a close working relationship with guys like Jim Clyburn, my ranking member, Rosa DeLauro, the chair, the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee.

These are relationships that I've built over time and will continue to, to press on those.

Mr.. I'll say 30s.

Going back to the question of judicial, restraint on the president's executive orders, the reality is, is that we have co-equal branches of government.

That ought to be a check and a balance.

When someone steps out of line, the other branches of government need to pull that that branch of government back.

I'm glad that the judicial system has done that.

I wish Congress would rein in this president.

I wish Congressman Womack, who votes 100% of the time with Donald Trump, would be a check and balance.

Mr.

Wilson, you have 30.

Like I said, this is just kind of one of those things, too, where, I mean, we all sound like broken records here.

Congress just doesn't do their job a lot of the things happen because everything just gets thrown into it.

We don't have single issue bills.

The subcommittees do not pass their appropriations and everything just get all piled into like, these giant bills that has so much stuff that nobody wants.

And until that actually does, it starts to break apart.

And we're just going to be stuck here.

Miss Ellison has the next question, and it goes first to Mr.

Wilson.

Thank you.

I should Congress regulate artificial intelligence or would federal regulation slow progress?

And why?

I'm kind of in the camp that this is, like, the most important thing going on right now.

It's of the same account as in nuclear or nuclear power during the nuclear weapons during World War two.

I'm always anti Congress regulation.

I'm a I'm a Federalist at heart.

I don't think they really have a spot in general.

And when Congress does get involved in things, nine times out of ten they do it wrong.

And they will most likely stifle it.

But in general, we do have a lot of like, abuses going on with, with data centers.

And so there needs to be some type of standardization to make sure that localities are protected.

You know, there should be, like, standard with when it comes to sound and zoning and any of those common things that can help make sure that, when a data center comes to a neighborhood and, or comes to a town that it just doesn't overwhelm it with just the massive amount of money.

Mr.

Womack, one minute.

I is here to stay.

And it is a, fundamental part now of society.

And I think we have to be very careful that we don't let I just run amok.

There have to be guardrails on it.

I put my mayor's hat back on for a minute.

I think these data centers that feed the artificial intelligence, system of our country right now are very important in that we need data, that it's a data driven.

And if we're not going to if we shut it down completely, which some people advocate, then we just cede that ability and that technology, to our pacing threats overseas.

Read China and others.

So I think we need to have some guardrails.

I think Congress has a role in that.

But I think we got to be careful that we don't go too far to where we see a lot of that technology.

To adversaries that have, nefarious intentions for our country.

So AI is an important part of everyday life, but it does need certain controls.

And that will be up to Congress to provide.

Mr.. Right.

Or say, one minute.

I'm a I'm a pro technology kind of person.

But I also recognize that technology can get out of control in a hurry.

And I think we can look at history and see that there have been times in American history where we've plowed ahead with technological advancements, and we haven't recognized the environmental and the human impact of those advancements until it was too late.

The railroads, coal mines, we could go on and on, and then we're like, oh no, what have we done?

We've got to pump the brakes on both.

AI and data centers before we have another one of the oh no, what have we done moments?

There needs to be a moratorium on data centers until data centers are energy, independent.

They don't pollute the environment, and they aren't a nuisance to the neighborhoods that they are put in.

Mr.

Wilson 30s.

As they were talking, I'm like I said, I think this is one of those things.

We got to go full steam ahead.

There's there's no stopping this train.

Anybody that's using AI has seen it.

And it's something that we we have to be first in it.

If we want to look at what Congress should do to help, help it rein it in, as I think individuals need to be empowered with our own eyes, and we need to be able to protect our data.

And so, so far, our privacy concerns would probably be where, Congress has a different place to step in as to why am I 30?

Say, you know, if you have a throw the baby out with a bathwater?

Solution to this problem, then what you are foregoing, you're foregoing an opportunity to improve your country in terms of its national defense, in terms of its ability to create life saving treatments, if you will, that AI is going to be a functional partner in, in the in the future of biomedical, research and and breakthroughs.

So I think we have to be really careful.

As I said in my opening, we do have to provide guardrails for it.

But let's don't as I say, you throw the baby out with the bathwater and back to Mr.

Early 30s.

I am pro technology and AI is been a really amazing and fantastic tool, and it's exciting to see where it's going to go.

But it can't be let to run unfettered.

And Congress absolutely has a role in regulating AI, regulating the major technology corporations that buy and pay for our politicians, making sure that they have our best interest in mind, not just their own.

Next question is from Mr.

Evans, and it goes first to Mr.

Womack.

I want to stick with the technology advancement we've been talking about, specifically automated license plate cameras.

Many people know them as the the name brand company flock.

Law enforcements refer to it as a valuable, crime fighting tool, while other people think it's an invasion of privacy.

Where do you stand on flock cameras and its potential for misuse?

Flock cameras are a tool, and like any tool, they can be misapplied.

And I think the debate right now is more a privacy issue than it is anything else.

And it's unfortunate because I think we've lost kind of the messaging war on flock.

Flock has done some really good work in helping us solve some of the more important crimes, you know, particularly child trafficking crimes and the like.

Yeah.

Look, I prefer local control.

I think it should be up to mayors and city councils to decide whether or not they want to employ flock cameras in their communities.

I wouldn't want a blanket approach that we're just not going to allow flock, you know, to, to exist in America.

It's it's the manner in which it's used and it's the accountability of people who abuse that program and invade the privacy of others.

So, and that's not a look that's not Pollyanna.

That is simply let's give the local governments control and let's hold people accountable for these programs and policies.

Mr.

Ryan, AC one minute, sir.

Local governments have control right now.

And what has happened is our privacy has been invaded by both a major corporation like flock and the other, surveillance companies like it, as well as by people who utilize that information for nefarious purposes.

Congress needs to protect the privacy of Americans.

That's a fundamental duty.

This is not like big government kind of thing.

This is like the fundamental job of Congress is to protect us as a people.

And that means protecting our privacy.

Congress needs to pass regulations that rein in the use of flock cameras and other privacy.

Penetrating devices and make sure the American people can live their lives without big government or big industry surveilling them.

And Mr.

Wilson, one minute.

I think the course has left the barn here on this one.

Everybody's got a camera in their phone.

You know, I own a Tesla that's self-driving.

It has nine cameras.

All right.

And that's just only going to increase.

Drones are increasing, and those have cameras.

Everybody's got a ring camera on their house.

So it's one of those things, too, where, like, the when it comes to the flock room, it's kind of funny how like, there's it's been like this type of flash point, and I understand, I just think people are kind of waking up to realize that we are actually in the, you know, panopticon.

We are always constantly surveilled, whether it be online, outside in your home.

I mean, they can use Wi-Fi to, you know, they can look outside your house and use Wi-Fi to see who's walking around inside the house.

So the technology has already gone crazy far away, farther than people even realize.

I think in general, we just want to make sure that, you know, just make sure the police forces are, you know, filing warrants to get the information as opposed to just standardly watching everybody.

Mr.

Womack 30s.

Yeah.

Well, that look, the new pinata today is flock cameras and data centers.

They're very much maligned in the, court of public opinion right now.

And and, like I said before, I just think that the government's responsibility here is to make sure that whatever we provide in terms of a tool for public safety, that it's adequately, employed and that there's accountability for people who abuse the process.

And as long as it's lawfully and ethically applied, I think let local governments make that call.

Mr.

Ryan C30, are you are you okay with the dystopia that they're describing?

Are you okay with this?

Like, well, you know, it's just too bad we're going to build data centers and we're going to lose our privacy.

I'm not okay with that.

Not okay with living in a world like that.

I'm not okay with my kids inheriting a world like that.

Government has a role to play in preserving the kind of country we want to live in.

And if we won't do it when it comes to things like data centers and flock cameras, when will we do it?

Mr.

Warner has.

Excuse me, Mr.

Wilson has 30s.

Like I said, it's.

I don't think it's dystopian.

I think having, you know, having cameras, having citizens have cameras in their pocket makes us more.

It gives us more control.

We don't actually need the government to protect us.

We need to be enabled with the tools to protect ourselves.

And that's happening.

We have a ton of tools to protect ourselves.

We just need to make sure that, the the tools that we use don't get made illegal.

And now, Mr.

Warner, with a question first to Mr.

Rogers.

And on that note, recognizing the fact that Mr.

Rice, you left the Republican Party not long ago to become a Democrat.

And, Mr.

Wilson, as a libertarian, if, if elected, your voice would be a minority in DC.

And, of course, Representative Womack, having been there for a decade plus, what is one issue that you actually disagree with with your own party and would be willing to vote against your party leadership if you thought it was best for your district?

Yeah, that's a great question, and it's so tremendously important.

I did used to be a Republican.

I, like a lot of people, have gone through a political identity crisis over the years, and I have felt politically homeless.

I, I know what that feels like.

Let me tell you real specifically where I disagree with my party leadership.

Corporate donors to campaigns.

We have a problem in Washington, D.C., where corporate donors buy and pay for our politicians.

It happens with Republicans like Steve Womack, and it happens with Democrats.

And when that happens, the loyalty of our elected officials are with the people who fund their campaigns rather than with voters.

It's a problem with Democrats, and it needs to end.

It's a problem with Republicans, and it needs to end.

I don't take any corporate PAC money because I want to go to Washington, D.C.

to serve you and your family alone.

Mr.

Wilson, one minute.

When it comes to our platform, I'm pretty much in alignment with it.

I guess in general, I'm probably a bit more hawkish on the border.

And crime than I would say most libertarians are.

I think as we've, as I've grown up and become a father is just kind of just one of those things where you just see where a lot of, problems could just be solved if we just get rid of, like, you know, you know, 10,000, get 10,000 people off the street.

I mean, so it's just kind of just one of those things, too, where like, I just think in general, if there were some type of, way to, make the place safer, for, like, the worst of the worst, then I would probably be for that.

Mr.

Womack, one minute.

Well, it's an interesting question.

Because you're asking, for these members up here to take issue with their party leadership.

I'm going to take a little different course.

I'm an appropriator.

And it's made up of Republicans and Democrats and many times the appropriation bills that we pass in the House or pass it in committee and end up on the floor of the House, end up not becoming law.

So I guess if there is an area where I would disagree with my leadership on, it's the it's their idea or their belief that a continuing resolution or a big omnibus package is a better course of action than going through the regular appropriations process, producing our bills, and letting the House work its will in a bipartisan way.

And let's face it, the solutions that are going to impact America today, the bigger ones, whether it's immigration or health care or budgets and deficit and debt, all of those, the solution is going to be bipartisan.

The numbers point to that.

And the sooner we can get to these bipartisan solutions, the better.

To Mr.

Ryan for another 30.

Congressman Womack has voted with the Trump agenda 100% of the time.

That is simple fact.

Now, listen, I understand that political identity is something that, like, really gets like it gets difficult to navigate for folks.

And I want to tell you this, I'm not asking anybody to become a Democrat.

I'm asking you to vote for me in this election because I'm running to represent you.

Back to Mr.

Wilson for 30.

All right.

Like I said, we've seen this with both parties.

That when they.

When it's time to vote, they always, you know, circle the wagons.

The only real way to actually break the deadlock is somebody to actually not vote when they're getting bullied into some type of omnibus bill or some type of giant package.

And, whenever anybody from either party does that, they get run out of the party.

So, I just think in general, I think both parties have shown that they don't allow dissidence.

Again, the congressman for 30 in the modern Congress, in today's Congress, the margins are so thin, there is no perfect bill.

And and I think it requires leadership, leadership that I possess and that I employ every day to try to make these bills better.

But at the end of the day, you got to vote on something.

And the solutions may not be 100% what you want, but you shouldn't let the perfect get in the way of the good.

And these challenges that America faces right now are so profound that we need good bipartisan solutions and be on our way toward success in addressing them.

Thank you sir.

Before we, take up another question, we want to let you know that, the candidates have the opportunity to participate in a press conference directly following the debate.

Optional.

You can scan the QR code on your screen with your mobile device, to watch that press conference.

So, get your mobiles ready.

You will see that QR code periodically through the balance of our program.

Next question comes from Miss Allison.

And it goes first to Mr.

Womack.

Thank you.

Let's talk a little bit about health care and how we can lower costs, make it more accessible, especially for those in rural Arkansas.

Many times a lot of people will drive 30, 40, 50 miles to access health care.

What can we do to change that?

Make it more accessible and affordable?

Another great question, and let me tell you, I'm, I personally have sponsored legislation that deals with the rural health care crisis facing our country right now.

I have a bill, that allows for, a Covid area, Covid era provision that allows veterans, to seek telemedicine services because of their rural nature, to be able to engage with, with, with technology, to solve some of those big problems so that that's an area that I, that I've worked on in my community project portfolio.

As one example, I put the first MRI unit in Berryville, Arkansas, at the mercy system, through a community project initiative that we sponsored, that provided Carroll County its first MRI.

So rural health care is very important.

And then let me just say, finally, the rural transformation program, of which we just Arkansas just received over $200 million in that first tranche.

Was a was a product of the big, beautiful bill, that we spoke of earlier.

And so those are areas where we've engaged in rural health care.

Mr.

Ryan, say, one minute, Congressman Womack did not say a single word about doing anything that will bring the costs of health care down.

I believe that health care is a human right.

I don't think it's a perk of employment or some kind of fringe benefit.

I think when you need to see a doctor, you ought to be able to see a doctor.

And while CEOs from insurance companies post multimillion dollar profits, billion dollar profits for their companies, and they take home millions of dollars in salaries, American families are struggling, struggling with medical debt and facing bankruptcy, struggling because, hospitals and doctors are out of network, struggling because they have insurance that's just too expensive to even use.

I believe that we need a Medicare for all system.

It is cheaper overall for the American public, and it's morally right because it means you get to see a doctor when you need it.

Mr.

Wilson, one minute.

Whenever you want to lower prices, the solution is always the same.

You increase supply.

We need we need more health care.

We need more MRI machines.

We MRI machines.

We need more Dexa scans.

We need more blood testing.

How do we get there?

We get there with technology.

And this is where this goes back to the AI and data center.

That's just driving a lot of the medical research when it comes to compound pharmacies, when it comes to telehealth, when it comes to all of these really fun and cool things that just make our lives better, and we need to really just push on the gas on that.

When it comes to rural areas, this is where we can use technology again.

We have drones, you know, for lack of a better term, flying cars, anything like that to help get care to people as quick as they can.

And these are things that, you know, the federal government can do because they, you know, regulate airspace and regulate, health care over state lines.

And so this is something that Congress can step in to help make everything better.

Mr.

Womack, you have another 30.

Well, there's no question that, my opponent to the left over here, to the far left, prefers a system where the government is going to make the decisions for you, that a single payer system is is the right answer.

I just disagree with that.

I think there are a lot of things that we can do.

Insofar as medical coverage goes, it can bring down cost.

You know, Bobby talked just a minute ago about cost containment.

I think you do that through competition as more of everything.

I think you can do it through transparency.

These are fundamentals that I think our party believes in that can help lower the cost of health care.

Back to Mr.

RC.

As I've traveled around the district, after people talk to me about how every the cost of everything has gone up, they tell me their health care crisis stories.

They tell me about three and a half year old who needs a fourth open heart surgery in the family, selling tamales to raise the money for it.

It's not right the way we do health care in America.

The government isn't going to be making decisions when you have Medicare for all, you and your doctor are making decisions.

And another 34, Mr.

Wilson, I vehemently oppose any Medicare for all.

We can just look at Canada.

Pennsylvania has more MRI machines, MRI machines than the entire country of Canada with like, a third of the people.

We need more health care.

We need more options.

There's too much regulation.

I I'm at a company that's like, on the cusp of where we're, you know, have to get the 50 employees, and the health insurance is just completely broken.

The market is non-existent.

And that's totally because of regulation.

Mr.

Evans has the next question, and it goes first to Mr.

Ryerson.

I want to talk about Arkansas and international warfare.

When you talk about the, ebbing our National Guard base with the specialized wings there, we talk about the companies that are manufacturing drones, even to the the factories that are building the missiles for Israel right now.

Where do you see Arkansas standing in current wars and in future warfare?

Yeah, I'm concerned about the proliferation of war around the world.

I'm concerned that Donald Trump has started an unnecessary war in Iran.

I'm concerned that Donald Trump has been flirting with taking the side of Russia in the conflict with Ukraine.

And I'm concerned that Arkansas is increasingly becoming a international target, because Congressman Womack has bent the knee to the military industrial complex.

Dwight Eisenhower warned us a long time ago about what would happen if the military industrial complex gets its way in America.

We end up building bombs and not feeding kids.

We end up with more war and less goodness.

I think Arkansas ought to be leading the way in making the world a better place, not making it more dangerous.

Mr.

Wilson, one man.

I'm I'm pretty consistent on libertarianism at this point to where I am, you know, against pretty much all interventions.

And, a lot of the, you know, the military, you know, industrial complex, for lack of a better term that we have here with all the plants that they offer, I think that those funds could be better used.

I think, you know, I as I've talked before, I think drones are, you know, a massive win, for society, whether it comes from, you know, making sure that we don't have forest fires or getting medical help to people that are outside of any type of areas.

And it's kind of sad to see that we're we decided to, put our focus on, you know, using it to, you know, bomb other people, or sell it to bomb other people.

And I would just prefer that we would use this really awesome technology to just, make all of our lives better.

Mr.

Womack, one minute.

Well, I think I'm the only person up here I'm.

Might be wrong.

I don't know about Bobby's background, but I think I'm the only person up here that's worn the uniform of our of our country.

And I did so for 30 years.

The face of warfare is changing in the world right now.

Ukraine has taught us a lot of lessons about drone warfare and the like.

And with that change comes a technological, advancement in our country that we want to we want to successfully embrace and quite frankly, I would like for a lot of those jobs to come to the third district of Arkansas.

Swarm arrow being one of those that got a lot of press, when it, located in Fayetteville, you mentioned Ebbing Air Force Base.

Think of this.

We're we're training pilots from Finland and Poland and in Germany, to train on the F-35, the fifth generation fighter aircraft in this country to help protect the rest of the world.

We are participating in this idea of provide for the common defense with these kinds of advancements in Arkansas third district.

And I'm proud of that.

One half minute for Mr.

Rogers.

I mentioned earlier that politicians who take corporate PAC money and take money from big corporations, their loyalty ends up being with the people who fund their campaigns rather than the people who live in their district.

Congressman Womack brought Swarm Aero to Fayetteville, something wildly unpopular with the people of our of our community.

And he is taking Mac's political donations to his reelection campaign from their CEO and other executives.

Who does he work for?

Mr.

Wilson, you have another 30s.

Like I said, this is just one of those things where, a lot of the, a lot of the military spending is really just, like I said, it's deficit spending at the standpoint.

You know, we have $2 trillion of debt.

Most of the most of the munitions that go out there gets given to other countries.

And, and then under some type of funding package where, just as always, deficit spending on, upon deficit spending.

So back to Mr.

or Walmart.

Well, we're not going to make this about swarm, although I'm proud that swarm is decided to come to the third district of Arkansas and bring good high paying jobs and and produce a platform that's literally going to save American servicemen's lives.

These are unmanned platforms, and that's the wave of of the new form of of the way we prosecute war anymore.

But Arkansas is a leader in this area.

Camden, look at Camden, a tremendous, collection of people and companies that he's picking on that are making the munitions in the Pine Bluff arsenal.

There are many examples in Arkansas where we're leading in the national defense of our country.

We go to Mr.

Warner, with a question for Mr.

Wilson.

First, wonderful.

2.5 hour drive from my home in Taneytown, to make it here today.

And I would say about 90% of everything I pass just farmland.

I think it gets to the core of what, what makes Arkansas, Arkansas?

What is your plan to protect our Arkansas farmers?

I feel like they're they're filling it from all sides right now.

Yes.

Diesel prices, they up and down the highest I've probably ever seen, despite some state efforts to try to defer some of those costs.

What is a master plan to tackle this problem right here at home?

There really isn't a master plan.

I mean, the market itself is the master plan.

Like, if you look at everything that goes on, there's so much government intervention, whether it be in farm subsidies, whether it be in tariffs, whether it be in, you know, not not making a new refinery in 30 years.

And they just make everything tougher for farmers and really just business people in general.

But that's what farmers are.

They're they're entrepreneurs, right.

You know, they have to they don't know how much crop they're going to get when they when they plant their seeds.

And there's just way, way too much interference already.

Right now we just really just need to, you know, take the foot off their throats, and I think they'll succeed to Mr.

Walmart for one minute.

Well, let's begin.

First of all, by passing a farm bill, the House has taken action.

It's pending in the Senate.

Senator Bozeman has written that farm bill along with G.T.

Thompson in the House.

We need that passed.

Look, I, I look at I look at the government's role in agriculture.

This is a big deal.

I mean, how we feed and clothe our nation and much of the world is huge.

And and it's the biggest industry in the state of Arkansas.

So the way I look at it, Congress has a role to provide market access and risk management programs because these farmers, a lot of the things that happen to them that affect their inputs, come without any ability for them to be able to respond, whether it being one of those.

So I think if we could pass legitimate farm legislation that gives our farmers and ranchers an opportunity to be able to do what they do and provide certain, parameters of risk management, and then give them market access so they can they can sell their products.

I think that's a big step in the right direction to help our farm community.

One minute, Mr.

Rayasi.

I'm so glad that Congressman Womack said pass the farm bill because it gives us a chance to say, hey, we don't disagree on everything.

We're on the same page with this.

We agree we need to pass the farm bill.

But I'll tell you, the most pressing issues facing our farmers right now are related to the cost of diesel fertilizer and tariffs.

The thing we can do most immediately to dramatically make a difference in the lives of Arkansas farmers is, number one, end the war in Iran.

This war has gone on for too long, and it has caused the price of everything, especially diesel, to go up.

And that presses our farmers as much as anybody.

We also need to end the tariff war.

You know, there are so many cattle farmers in northwest Arkansas, Washington County in particular, and they have been squeezed and shut out by Donald Trump's tariffs.

The tariff war needs to end as well.

We go to Mr.

Wilson for another 30.

Like, again, these are all things to where government just keeps on doing too much.

And then it needs to keep on doing more and more to try to make things right.

And in general just makes things worse and worse.

You know, the war in Ukraine actually help farmers on many level because it raised prices of wheat.

Now the war in Iran makes diesel really high.

Tariffs make all, you know, the inputs of the fertilizer and all that other stuff necessary make it expensive too.

So government just needs to get out and then let the farmers handle it.

Yeah.

Congressman 30s yeah, the inputs are, are very difficult on the farm community right now.

But but the war in Iran will eventually end.

And Rob wants to make everything about the war in Iran.

Well, let me tell you something.

I support the president in his desire to want to protect Americans and protect the rest of the world, if you will, from a nuclear armed Iran.

There are some prices it will have to pay, and we're paying those.

But eventually we're going to celebrate the fact that we have taken the ability for Iran to threaten the rest of the world, and certainly us with a nuclear weapon has been eliminated.

Mr.. Right.

RC 30s, the president has the authority to wage war, to direct military action for 60 days without congressional approval.

The war in Iran is on day 228, when Congress passed a bipartisan resolution encouraging the president directing the president to follow the law.

Congressman Womack voted no.

Steve, why are you okay with Donald Trump breaking the law?

Miss Ellison has the next question that goes first to Mr.

Rogers.

Should lawmakers change benefits, eligibility rules or taxes to preserve Social Security's long term finances?

Why or why not?

Yeah, Social Security is the current system is not sustainable and we need to do something about it.

Millions of American seniors are facing poverty as they enter into retirement, and it's just plain wrong.

Now we've got some hard decisions to make.

When I am faced with hard decisions, I'm often guided by the idea of the common good.

What can do the most good for the most people?

Raising the age of, eligibility or cutting benefits does the most harm to the most people.

The Social Security income tax has a cap at $184,000.

If we raised it to $250,000, it would only impact 2.5% of workers.

But it would help make Social Security solvent well into the future.

Mr.

Wilson, one minute.

We got a big prom coming up.

2032.

The address is expected to not have enough money.

And there's supposed to be an automatic cut to 78% of current benefits.

You factor in if we get another, you know, 3% inflation every year.

That's, you know, it's just it's just going to be bad for anybody that currently has that is living on Social Security.

It's also bad for anybody my age or younger.

I have no expectation of social Security when when I retire.

I don't think anybody under 30 or 20 thinks that'll be there either.

So this is a program that's it's run its course.

We need to create some type of off ramps for anybody that aren't going to get Social Security and then figure out what we need to cut in the budget to make sure that we can make sure that our, current seniors that are on Social Security are made whole.

Two Mr.

Womack one minute entitlement programs are more than two thirds of the federal budget.

In this case, we're talking about Social Security.

As Bobby just said, 2032 Social Security trustees say that there won't be enough money coming in from the millions of Americans who are working that will pay the benefits to the current beneficiaries.

And that means a 20 plus percent cut in those benefits.

Look, I don't think that's going to happen.

I think Congress is going to fix that.

The question is, will they fix it by borrowing more money and increasing the debt of the country and the, increased cost associated with servicing that debt?

Or will the Congress, think long and hard and, and very soberly about what to do, raising taxes or means testing Social Security benefits or raising the age of eligibility, or any one of a number of programs.

Look, at the end of the day as as broke as our country is 40 trillion in debt, $2 trillion deficits as far as the eye can see, something's going to have to happen, and it's likely going to be all of the above that have to be considered.

Mr.. Or seconds.

I think leadership is about giving a straight answer and solutions rather than punting and just saying, well, we're going to have to figure something out before we raise the age of eligibility.

We need to recognize that there have been people who have worked their entire lives on construction sites, lifting patients, stocking shelves, and before we asked them to work longer, we need to ask others who have made so much money to pay their fair share, Mr.

Wilson 30s.

I think it's pretty clear Congress is going to kick the can until they absolutely have to.

And we're going to get the worst of both worlds when it comes to this.

I will say the solution is, people my age and younger, we need some type of parallel option to be able to opt out of the system.

And then we need to be looking what we can cut for the people that are currently in the system to make sure that they're taking hold.

Mr.

Womack, another 30.

I have a bill, budgeting for a Better America that I think would go a long way toward helping us achieve, at least some, sense of stability in our budgeting process, in the in the outcomes that we're going to experience over time.

But Social Security is one of those issues that is not going to go away.

In fact, it's going to rapidly approach in 2032.

So every single member of the U.S.

Senate that gets elected this year will have to run on a program that they supported in 2032, when they won't run for reelection.

Same for the next president of the United States.

He'll have had to sign the bill that fixes that problem.

I think we'll get there, but it's not going to happen anytime soon.

There is a sense of urgency, however.

Thank you sir.

That concludes the question and answer portion of our broadcast.

And we turn now to closing statements.

Again, the order of closing statements was determined prior to the broadcast by a drawing, and the first close is by Mr.

Wilson.

I want to thank PBS for holding the debate, and I want to thank, Congresswoman Womack for showing up and and, Rob, really for being here, too.

We've seen other candidates in the state not show up, and I think it's great when they do.

I think fundamentally, How bad the things need to get, before, you know, voters start to really start looking for change.

Everything it's, it's a yo yo back and forth.

Republicans in charge, Democrats in charge.

Like I said before, and under the Biden administration, we had massive inflation.

We had a war in Ukraine, and we just have a debt that just is out of control.

And now we're in the Trump administration with the other party in control, and we're in the same thing, and we're looking like we're going to head back to the other system, you know, looking at the other party, swinging back.

Let's get off that.

Let's get off that right.

For gold.

I think it's a really good way to move forward.

And thank you so much, Soraya.

See?

You're close.

Well, I, too, want to thank Arkansas TV.

Thank you so much for hosting this debate.

And thank you for those of you who are at home watching.

I've spent 30 years as a pastor, including the last 20 plus leading a church that my wife and I started in Northwest Arkansas, and I have known so many people who do everything right.

They work hard, they take care of their family, they love their neighbor, and they still struggle.

At some point.

We've got to stop telling people to try harder, and we've got to start asking, why is it so hard in the first place?

Who cares about me and my family and what they're going through, and what are you going to do about it?

Well, I want to tell you, I care.

I care about you and your family.

And when I go to Washington, DC, I'm going to represent you and help make a government that works for you when you need it most.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Womack, one minute.

I too, want to thank Arkansas TV for for this debate.

And for all of the debates that happen, I think they're very educational, and I truly appreciate the opportunity.

Doug.

Brandon.

Joe, thank you for participating, Steve, for your longstanding service in hosting.

I want to thank Rob and Bobby.

You know, I can disagree with them, but I kind of like them.

They're they're good guys.

But look, this is about a binary choice.

Do you want a bigger government commanding more of your taxes, providing more regulations, destroying more of your freedoms?

Or do you opt for the kind of government that I represent?

That's limited in nature lower taxes, fewer regulations, protections of life, strong national defense?

That's the binary choice that voters in this election are going to have.

Look, I've got the experience, the leadership and the proven track record to continue delivering for the people of the third district.

Those are from from Arkansas.

And that's why I'm asking for your vote for yet another term to continue to represent the remarkable people of the third district of Arkansas.

Thank you, Mr.

Womack.

We thank you.

And with that, our time has simply expired.

Again, our thanks to the candidates for appearing and to our panelists for their questions.

Again, you can watch this and all Arkansas TV debates on demand at the Arkansas TV YouTube channel and on our website.

The candidates have been again invited to participate in individual press conferences immediately following the broadcast, so you can continue to watch our live stream at YouTube.com, slash at Arkansas TV, or by scanning the QR code on your screen.

Again, one more thanks to our candidates for appearing and to, our journalists for participating and of course, to you for watching.

A reminder, Election Day, Tuesday, November the 3rd.

So make your voice heard.

Thanks again for watching.

Major funding for election 2026 Arkansas TV debates is provided by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.