Borderland wanted presidential debate to focus on real issues

Democratic and Republican voters turned out for presidential debate watch parties Wednesday night.

They came to see candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton face off on the debate stage for the last time before the November 8th presidential election.

Both the El Paso County Republican and Democrat parties held debate watch parties in west El Paso.
Voters on both sides of the isle seem to agreed on one thing: they wanted to see more talk on real issues and less mudslinging.

“I’m interested in knowing what they think about the supreme court, immigration, border security, security around the world and not just the borders. All the issues they are supposed to be discussing, I think it’s important people understand their positions on those issues,” said Adolpho Telles, the chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party.

Iliana Holguin, the chairwoman of the El Paso County Democratic Party, agreed. She wanted to hear both candidates explain their plans for immigration.

“That is something that certainly affects border communities like ours. So, I am really excited that we are going to get to see the differences between the platforms of the two parties because they are very, very different,” Holguin said.

The GOP nominee has been battered by recent revelations of his vulgar comments about women and a string of sexual assault allegations. Clinton has faced questions after her top adviser’s hacked emails show her striking a different tone in private than in public regarding Wall Street banks and trade.

“I want to see candidates who don’t want the presidency to be won in the mud. I want to see more about the issues because that is what our country is about. We need to save our republic and we need to know what the issues are and where they stand on them so that we can make an intelligent decision when we go vote,” said Barbara Carrasco, a voter at the Republican debate watch party.

“I was hoping to see some more solid facts about their policies instead of all the gossip and drama. It’s just ridiculous to bring up all these old things that don’t really even relate to the presidency,” said voter Whitney Walker echoed the same sentiment from the Democratic watch party.