McGovern, Lovvorn exchange barbs in pointed debate
WORCESTER - Longtime U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern and his second-time challenger Tracy Lovvorn traded barbs Tuesday in a pointed debate at the Mercantile Center.
While the event was socially distanced - only reporters, moderators and one guest for each candidate were allowed into the room - it was far from impersonal, with each candidate at different points accusing the other of lying and engaging in scare tactics.
McGovern - who defeated Lovvorn by 34 points in 2018, and has represented his hometown of Worcester as a Democrat in Washington since 1997 - was sharply critical of Lovvorn, a Republican, for supporting President Donald J. Trump. The district includes most of Worcester County as well as area towns such as Northborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Upton, Mendon, Blackstone, Millville and Uxbridge.
Lovvorn, a Grafton physical therapist who formerly served on her town’s planning board, panned McGovern as being one of many longtime U.S. representatives who have failed to deliver for their districts.
The two agreed on a few points, including the need to address climate change and the willingness to make Puerto Rico a state, but differed more frequently.
While neither candidate mimicked the presidential debate by interrupting the other, the two made it clear to voters that neither thinks much of the other’s character.
In her opening remarks, Lovvorn accused McGovern of sending out an email critical of her that was full of lies. McGovern, several questions into the debate, pivoted from a policy question to detail the email he sent out about Lovvorn.
McGovern asserted that Lovvorn’s social media posts show she cannot be a reasonable, rational voice, alleging that she “liked” a Twitter post disparaging the late civil rights icon John Lewis and called Black Lives Matter a Marxist, terrorist organization.
Lovvorn responded by saying she wasn’t going to attack back - “I’m not on the ropes here,” she said - and accused McGovern of lying about most of her social media record.
Lovvorn confirmed she did say that the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement had been trained by Marxists, adding that it’s true and can be verified.
One of the leaders is on record saying that she and a co-founder were Marxists, the fact-checking group PolitiFact found. The website noted that several experts labeled such a critique as overly broad criticism of a larger movement that has been growing for years.
Lovvorn said Tuesday that the Black Lives Matter organization has “nothing to do” with the Black Lives Matter movement, adding that she has said numerous times in the campaign that black lives matter.
McGovern also criticized Lovvorn for “giving oxygen” to QAnon, a conspiracy theory that, according to the Associated Press, is centered on the baseless belief that Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state” and a child sex trafficking ring run by satanic pedophiles and cannibals.
Lovvorn, asked by the T&G after the debate whether she would characterize herself as a QAnon supporter, said she was “QAnon aware.”
She agreed there is an “element of crazy” to the theories, but said that some of the pieces, particularly regarding deceased child sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, have been “validated” and are worthy of being “teased out.”
Lovvorn said during the debate that the Trump campaign was "spied on," referring to an FBI investigation of Trump campaign officials whose origins include a secret court wiretap that the FBI's inspector general found was procured by cherry-picking information, and included "at least 17 significant errors."
She opened her closing statement by attacking McGovern over Russia, accusing him of continuing to beat the drum over something that had "100%" been debunked.
McGovern had, minutes before, made a statement that he had recently been briefed on information that Russia is meddling in the 2020 election "even worse" than in 2016.
Asked about her Russia comment after the debate, Lovvorn said she believes Russia and many others try to interfere in U.S. elections - and the U.S. does the same - but that Democrats have overestimated the Russia meddling for political purposes.
The bipartisan U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee released a report this summer that concluded Trump did not collude with Russians, but that Russia did attempt to help Trump become president and viewed members of his campaign as easily manipulated.
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The CIA last month said it had "moderate" confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to help Trump win reelection.
McGovern focused much of his critique of Lovvorn - and of Republicans in general - on the character of Trump. He asserted that Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been "criminal," reasoning that Trump's public downplaying of concern over the virus cost lives around the country.
McGovern said, for instance, that Trump could have saved lives in Massachusetts had he called Gov. Charlie Baker to warn him about the danger posed to seniors in nursing homes.
He pilloried Lovvorn for recently assessing Trump a "B" grade for his handling of the virus. Lovvorn, in response, said that rates of death in the U.S. haven't been as high as other countries. She noted that top U.S. experts initially predicted 2.2 million people could die if no steps were taken against the virus.
"We are far from doing everything perfect, but we are better on track than 2.2 million (dead)," she said.
Lovvorn charged that McGovern didn't do enough to help the state respond to the virus, particularly with respect to all those who have died in nursing homes. McGovern pushed back, saying he was on the phone in Washington "begging for ventilators" at Baker's request.
Debate moderators at Mercantile Center, which houses the T&G, among other businesses, at 100 Front St. downtown, asked both candidates about a range of issues Tuesday, from immigration and climate change to the economy and farming.
Moderator Amalfis Rodriguez of Worcester-based Expresso Latin Radio - which translated the debate into Spanish - asked both candidates whether they would support immigration reform that would grant permanent residency to young immigrants whose parents immigrated illegally - known as Dreamers - and to refugees who were granted Temporary Protected Status.
Lovvorn did not specifically oppose either idea, saying there are many "wonderful, amazing" people who deserve to be citizens. She said immigration reform is overdue and that McGovern and longtime colleagues have gotten nothing done for decades.
McGovern said he supports pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and for those granted TPS. He said he's supported reform - including reforms proposed by former Republican president George W. Bush - that have been stymied by Republicans.
McGovern then went after the Trump administration's prior practice of separating families crossing the border illegally as inhumane.
Lovvorn responded that Trump was enforcing a bad law that Congress created. The fault lies at the feet of Congress, not the president, she said.
Lovvorn, responding to the night's last question, on election integrity, said she does not believe Massachusetts has taken enough preventive measures to protect against fraud when it comes to voting by mail.
“The only reason why you would not address the security of these ballots is if you were looking to tamper with the ballots," she said. "Yes, you need to question the validity of the election."
McGovern said he believes the state's controls are enough, noting that someone has to submit a signature along with their ballot, and asserting that people applying to receive a ballot online have to answer many questions.
"Let's stop the scare tactics," McGovern said, adding that anyone with information on voter fraud should contact authorities so that perpetrators can be prosecuted.
Tuesday's debate was sponsored by the Telegram & Gazette, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters and Expresso Latin Radio.
Before the debate, both McGovern and Lavvorn had supporters toting signs to show to passing motorists downtown.
Several Lovvorn supporters said they believe term limits - something she has made part of her platform - are vital, and that McGovern has been in office far too long.
"Politicians are like diapers," John McNaboe of Leicester said. "Changing them frequently is a good thing."
It does not appear that Lovvorn has received much fundraising help from outside Massachusetts in her bid against McGovern, who, as chairman of the powerful House Committee on Rules, has influence on how bills brought to the floor will be debated.
Lovvorn has raised shy of $23,000 since 2019, according to the Federal Election Commission, while McGovern has raised more than $930,000.
