U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, challenger Craig Swallow clash in radio debate

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U.S. Rep. William Keating and opponent Craig Swallow finally met Monday for their awaited in-person debate, which grew heated over immigration and money in politics.

The two Democrats will face each other in the Sept. 1 primary. The winner will advance to the Nov. 3 general election and face Republican R. Tyler MacAllister to represent the 9th Congressional District, which covers New Bedford and most of the South Coast, as well as the Cape and Islands and much of the South Shore, including some of Bristol and Plymouth counties. 

The debate, aired on WATD 95.9, was moderated by Christine James, with WATD reporter Tom Gorman and “Monday Night Talk” host Kevin Tocci asking questions. It was livestreamed on The Local Seen’s YouTube page. Both candidates answered questions about healthcare, money in politics, military intervention, immigration and more.

Keating’s opening statement focused on the affordability crisis, blaming the financial pressure facing families partly on President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other economic policies.

“Addressing these issues should be a priority of your congressman,” Keating said before highlighting “recent legislative successes” affecting the 9th District and involving healthcare, clean water, affordable housing, child care and emergency response.

Swallow opened by introducing himself and briefly recounting his education and work history.

“We’re going to hear a lot tonight about Keating’s resume as opposed to my experience,” he said. “I believe my experience is exactly what we are missing in Congress right now.”

Healthcare

Asked how Congress could rein in rising healthcare costs and expand access to affordable coverage, both candidates endorsed Medicare for All but differed over its urgency and political feasibility.

Keating presented the proposal as a long-term goal. “It’ll happen eventually.”

He then turned to Medicaid, warning that cuts approved by Trump and congressional Republicans in last year’s budget law would be draconian — and would not take effect until after the election.

Swallow challenged Keating from the left, arguing that his support for Hakeem Jeffries as House Speaker cast doubt on his commitment to Medicare for All.

“Congressman Keating has already said that he would support Jeffries as Speaker, and Jeffries has said that Medicare for All is not a priority in this Congress.”

Swallow accused Democratic leaders of surrendering on the subject before the general election has taken place, arguing that they should not dismiss Medicare for All before having a chance to win a congressional majority.

Energy

Asked how Congress should lower energy costs while addressing climate change, Keating focused on reversing Trump’s policies, while Swallow called for structural changes to the energy industry.

Keating blamed rising costs on Trump’s tariffs and the war, arguing that Congress must first undo the resulting damage. He said consumers in his district had spent about $160 million more on gasoline since the war began.

Swallow rejected Keating’s focus on the president.

“I have no interest in constantly blaming Donald Trump for everything that is the problem in this country,” he said.

Calling Trump a symptom rather than the underlying cause, Swallow proposed breaking up utilities like Eversource to limit their control over the energy market. He also called for aggressive action against the fossil-fuel industry over its contribution to climate change.

Legislative priorities

Asked which legislation they would prioritize, Keating did not name a specific bill, returning instead to affordability and Trump’s use of tariffs.

“Right off the bat, we should assert ourselves with our constitutional right that the Congress is in charge of tariffs, not Donald Trump.”

Keating accused congressional Republicans of standing by as Trump defied the courts and argued that lawmakers must also assert their authority over the war.

Swallow identified campaign-finance reform as his first priority. He said he would support a measure he identified as H.R. 4899, which he said would ban political action committee contributions.

“Dark money in politics is one of the issues that I constantly hear about,” he said.

Swallow argued that PAC contributions and congressional stock trading had eroded public trust and discouraged lawmakers from passing legislation that materially improved people’s lives. He also criticized Keating’s point that Medicare for All would happen eventually. “We cannot look at the American people again and say you will have healthcare eventually while your healthcare premiums are rising. Why are we ignoring this?”

Affordability

Asked what federal action he would take to lower everyday costs, Swallow focused on surge pricing. He argued that companies across a growing number of industries manipulate prices to take advantage of working- and middle-class consumers when demand is highest, and he called for broader federal restrictions on the practice.

“I believe that Bill Keating is a good person who tries to do a good job, but I also believe that he is a cog for the Democratic Party,” Swallow said.

Keating pointed to his role on a congressional litigation task force supporting legal challenges to Trump administration policies affecting healthcare and household costs. He said those lawsuits had prevailed in lower courts.

Keating also cited his work on discharge petitions, a procedural tool requiring 218 signatures to force action in the House. One petition sought to repeal cuts to subsidies that help people pay insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act; Keating noted that it had attracted Republican support. (The bill passed the House, but not the Senate.)

Immigration

The debate grew more heated over immigration enforcement, as Keating and Swallow interrupted each other.

“I support actually deconstructing ICE, because it’s lost its mission,” said Keating.

Keating accused the agency of acting illegally and unconstitutionally by detaining people who are in the country legally or have not committed serious crimes. He said more than 70% of those detained had no serious criminal record and accused the Trump administration of breaking up families and coercing immigrants to leave the country. Keating also cited his visit to the detention facility in Plymouth.

Swallow criticized Keating, saying he previously described conditions there as adequate. “Ed Markey, Ayanna Pressley, Stephen Lynch, Jim McGovern had all said that they were basically inhumane,” Swallow said.

(Markey called the conditions inhumane in a 2024 letter to then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Pressley, McGovern and Lynch, after a recent inspection to the facility, described it as “very clean,” but sharply criticized the administration’s mass deportation campaign.)

“We need to abolish ICE,” said Swallow.

Keating interjected: “It’s semantics, deconstruct or abolish, same thing.”

“Adequate is not semantic,” Swallow responded.

Keating said his colleagues had distinguished between conditions inside the state-run facility and the federal government’s decision to detain immigrants. “What’s not acceptable is taking away a human’s freedom. That’s what’s cruel.”

Money in politics

The candidates clashed again over how to curb the influence of corporate money and lobbyists and whether members of Congress should be prohibited from trading individual stocks.

Keating said his retirement funds were managed by third parties and that he did not select individual stocks. Still, he said he supported, and had co-sponsored, legislation that would prohibit members of Congress from trading them.

Keating described super PACs as the greater threat. “I am so frightened about the fact that the super PACs are the things we’re not talking about these days. They’ll come in with days left in a campaign and overwhelm the whole fundraising act. They’ll make the money that’s earned look like grains of sand on the beach.”

Swallow rebutted firmly. “I’m the only one sitting here who’s not accepting any PAC dollars,” he said. “I took something called the political integrity pledge.”

Swallow rejected Keating’s distinction between personally choosing stocks and having a third party manage them, arguing that lawmakers should not hold stocks — particularly in industries they regulate. He then addressed Keating directly.

“You could just sell your stock and I have called on you to sell your stock before the primary. Just show that you are not going to be part of the system.”

“I think it’s a little expedient in one sense,” Keating replied. “People that you’re emulating, people that you’re supporting right now that serve in Congress, the people you want to caucus with, they have stocks and they’re trading stocks.”

Keating reiterated his support for a federal ban that would apply to all lawmakers.

Infrastructure

Asked how Congress could increase funding for deteriorating roads and bridges, Swallow argued that decades of underinvestment, compounded by climate change, had left the nation’s infrastructure ill-equipped for current needs.

“And there’s only one person at this table who has been part of the government for 20, 30, or 40 years. And that is the congressman.”

Swallow called for moving beyond concerns about cost and the political status quo to prioritize infrastructure serving working- and middle-class residents.

“We need to stop saying, well, it can’t be too expensive and we need to start prioritizing the working and middle class. That is what we need to do.”

Keating cited his work securing commuter status for ferry service to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, which he said allowed him to secure $12 million in federal funding to keep the ferries operating during the pandemic.

He then turned to the Cape Cod bridges and their importance to the region.

“It’s easy to say everything’s not the bridges unless you live in this region. Everything is the bridges if you can’t get over them.”

Keating said he worked across the aisle while Democrats were in the minority to advance $2.3 billion in federal funding for the Sagamore Bridge.

Israel and U.S. military involvement

On the American relationship with Israel and Palestine, Keating described Israel as a strategically important ally in a region hostile to the U.S. But he also cited a resolution he said he co-led with Rep. Pramila Jayapal addressing humanitarian abuses in Gaza committed by Israel. 

“We can be a friend, but we don’t have to be a friend that has blinders on to see what’s going on,” said Keating.

Swallow agreed. “Israel is obviously our ally in the Middle East, but we also have to hold our allies accountable,” he said. “And currently right now there is a genocide happening in Palestine. We need to be acknowledging that. And we need to stop funding or being a part of that.”

Asked whether the U.S. had become too militarily involved abroad, Swallow said it should remain engaged in Ukraine, but he argued that the U.S. should not be involved militarily in Israel, Iran or Venezuela.

Keating focused his response on Venezuela. He said he had confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a committee hearing, accusing him of war crimes and extrajudicial killings off Venezuela’s coast. Keating pledged to continue that oversight as a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Email Eleonora Bianchi at ebianchi@newbedfordlight.org.

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