Senate candidates Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan and Republican Speaker of the House Thom Tillis debated student loans, education and equal pay for women among other hot-button topics in American politics Tuesday evening at the UNC-TV station in Research Triangle Park. 

Moderated by former White House Communications director and co-anchor of Good Morning America George Stephanopoulos, candidates took stances on issues that influence the lives of students in North Carolina and throughout the United States.

Student loans and education were two topics up for discussion, and the candidates’ proposed solutions varied widely. 

Tillis argued that the Affordable Care Act and Environmental Protection Agency, among other federal government policies, were overreaching, deterring job growth and continuing to stagnate unemployment. 

“If we cut the interest rate to zero, many of these students don’t have jobs to pay off their loans,” Tillis said. “Why don’t we stop regulating? Why don’t we stop killing jobs?”

Hagan said she was in support of a bill that would let 600,000 people in North Carolina refinance their student loans, unlike her opponent. She brought up how Tillis and the NC Legislature passed bills that imposed a tax on meal plans and canceled 549 college savings tax credits.

“Speaker Tillis has already made college more expensive, and he won’t do the simple thing of letting students refinance their loans,” Hagan said. 

Hagan said student debt now surpasses credit card debt in the U.S.

Gov. Pat McCrory recently signed legislation that would replace the Common Core education standards developed by 48 states with new standards in North Carolina. Tillis said he doesn’t support the Common Core standards, but he does support a national educational standard that emphasizes science, technology, engineering and math.

“The problem with Common Core is that teachers were being more worried about how they meet up with the standards than what really wanted to do in the classroom, pursuing their passion and educating the kids,” Tillis said.

Tillis said programs such as the Common Core, No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top all had too many strings attached from the federal government regulating how education ought to be handled. 

Tillis said about 15 percent of funding for state education is coming from the federal government, yet the government is controlling the classroom.  

Hagan said Tillis is not as pro-education as he claims to be, citing his $500 million cuts to public education.

“You know what that means folks? That means fewer teachers in the classrooms,” Hagan said. “That means larger classroom sizes, and that means outdated textbooks if there is any textbooks at all.”

During the candidate’s Q&A with each other, Hagan said women are paid 82 cents for every dollar men make in North Carolina. She asked Tillis why he did not support a bill that would ensure women are paid the same amount of money for equal work. 

Tillis said women in North Carolina have been disproportionately out of work since Obama took office, and supporting a thriving business environment that will bring about higher salaries would be more effective in giving women equal pay for equal work than another government policy. 

“Let’s enforce the laws that are on the books versus some of the campaign gimmicks that are going to put more regulation on businesses and make it even more difficult,” Tillis said.

Consistent with the rest of her campaign, Hagan attempted to distance herself from Obama by citing instances she voted against him during her time in the Senate and clinging tightly to her title of most moderate senator from the National Journal. 

Tillis called for fewer taxes, business regulations and ineffective government spending he quoted as being characteristic of the Obama Administration. Tillis made clear attempts to link Hagan to Obama, bringing up the fact she voted with Obama 96 percent of the time frequently throughout the debate. 

Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh was not present for the debate, but he is scheduled to attend a debate in Wilmington on Thursday, according to the News & Observer.