Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass) and Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren and faced off for the second time last night in a televised debate at 7 p.m. at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
David Gregory, anchor of NBC's Meet the Press, moderated the debate.
Warren, a Democrat, and Brown (LA '81), a Republican and the incumbent in the race, answered questions on subjects ranging from personal character and bipartisanship to the national debt and foreign policy.
Gregory began the debate by asking Warren to clarify remarks regarding her Native American heritage, which she self-reported to Harvard University when she applied for a teaching position there.
"I have never used the information about my Native American heritage to gain an advantage," Warren said.
On bipartisanship, Brown touted his record as a moderate and independent working with both Republicans and Democrats.
"I don't work for anybody. I work for the people of Massachusetts," Brown said, citing his rank as the second- least-partisan senator in the U.S. Senate.
Warren stated that she would be able to work with Republicans depending on the issues at hand, citing her experience heading the Congressional Oversight Panel in 2008.
"About half of the recommendations we made were unanimous," she said.
Brown did not say whether he would vote for the recommendations of the Simpson-Bowles commission, but argued that Congress continues to raise taxes all the time. He stated that he would not raise taxes during a recession.
Warren responded by lambasting his signing of Grover Norquist's pledge to not raise taxes and Brown's refusal to revoke subsidies for oil companies.
On foreign policy, Warren stated that the United States should exit Afghanistan at a faster rate than President Barack Obama's timetable indicates, whereas Brown stated he would rely on the judgment of the generals and the commander in chief.
Later in the debate, students from UMass Lowell posed questions to the candidates. A student asked what the candidates would do to help new college graduates find jobs.
Warren said she would invest in the future through education, roads, water and energy.
"We need a good federal partner, someone who will fight for us," she said.
Brown said he believes a lack of regulatory and tax certainty is responsible for the difficulty in finding jobs. Since businesses do not know how regulations and taxes will change in the future, he said, they are reluctant to hire new workers.
Gregory ended the debate with a series of lighter questions.
When asked why Massachusetts has never elected a female governor or senator, Warren responded, "Right now I'm trying to do something about it."
When asked what he admired about Warren, Brown noted her accomplishments as a professor.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure she keeps that position," he said.
