CNN
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Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado on Sunday defended his get together on the difficulty of inflation, arguing the US is coping with a worldwide downside as his GOP rival sought to pin blame on the incumbent senator for rising costs.

In a pair of wide-ranging, back-to-back interviews with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” Bennet and his opponent, Republican Joe O’Dea, sparred over a lot of key points of their race, with each candidates zeroing in on shopper costs.

“This can be a world downside. Canada has the identical inflation that we’ve got, the European – each nation in Europe has the identical inflation we’ve got. The UK does as nicely. India has as nicely as a result of we’re dealing with damaged world provide chains,” Bennet mentioned.

The senator added that the advantages of the August 2022 Inflation Discount Act can’t be counted but as a result of not all of them have kicked in, saying “the weather of the Inflation Discount Act aren’t going to kick in for some time. The cap on drug costs for seniors and the requirement – lastly, lastly, we overcame pharma – to have the requirement that Medicare negotiate drug costs on behalf of the American individuals.”

O’Dea, a average who has distanced himself from former President Donald Trump, blamed rising prices on a sweeping $1.9 trillion Covid-19 financial reduction bundle Democrats handed final yr, calling it a “reckless spending invoice” and noting his opponent’s voting document on the bundle.

“This inflation has been brought on by the $1.9 trillion reckless spending invoice that received put in place by Michael Bennet. He solid the deciding vote again in March of final yr, it’s triggered document inflation,” O’Dea instructed Bash.

The almost $2 trillion bundle included as much as $1,400 stimulus checks to many Individuals, however President Joe Biden and different Democrats have beforehand dismissed arguments that the big Covid reduction bundle might have contributed to the issue of rising costs.

“They’ve dumped over $5 trillion within the final yr and a half,” O’Dea mentioned on Sunday. “Along with that, the struggle on vitality has triggered the worth of diesel to undergo the ceiling and it’s nonetheless there right this moment. We’ve received a Fed that’s been asleep on the wheel, large authorities in our means.”

Bash additionally questioned each candidates on the difficulty of gun security reform, with O’Dea calling for police to implement “the legal guidelines we have already got,” and saying Democrats in his state are ignoring present legal guidelines on the difficulty.

“Democrats right here in Colorado have ignored the legal guidelines which are on the books. As a drug seller, you possibly can possess a weapon, it ought to be a felony, they’re not taking them off the streets. We’d like extra cops on our streets,” he mentioned. “We have to guarantee that we’re imposing the legal guidelines that we’ve got. We don’t want an entire host of latest legal guidelines. What we have to do is make certain we’re imposing those we’ve got.”

The Republican nominee additionally mentioned he believed Trump ought to have finished extra to forestall the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol and he added that if Trump runs for reelection once more in 2024, he would help one other Republican candidate.

“I imagine that January 6 was a black eye on the nation. I’ve been very vocal that I believed (Trump) ought to have finished extra to maintain the violence from heading in the direction of the Capitol. Anyone that was violent on the Capitol or tore one thing aside, they need to be held accountable,” he mentioned.

O’Dea additionally mentioned he believes in a girl’s proper to decide on to maintain or terminate her being pregnant. He mentioned he believes ladies ought to have a proper to terminate their being pregnant inside the first 5 months of a being pregnant.

“I imagine for the primary 5 months that call ought to be between a girl and her physician. After that, for rape, incest, lifetime of the mom, medical necessity, I imagine that call also needs to be between a girl and her physician,” he mentioned.

Although O’Dea has been working as a average, Bennet slammed him on the finish of his interview, saying he’s very conservative and would have supported Trump’s Supreme Court docket nominees if he had been in workplace.

“Nicely, I feel he’s portray himself that means. I imply, it’s unimaginable. He has mentioned that he would have voted for all three of Donald Trump’s Supreme Court docket nominees however the truth that he is aware of that they overturned Roe v. Wade. He opposes, as you simply heard, Colorado’s legislation codifying a girl’s proper to decide on,” Bennet mentioned. “He says that Donald Trump, despite the fact that he most likely is aware of higher, bears no accountability for what occurred on January 6.”

Inside Elections charges the Colorado Senate race as doubtless Democratic.