Sen. Chris Coons, challenger Dr. Mike Katz mix it up at candidates' forum
October 22, 2026
It's a race that pits a 16-year incumbent against a longtime doctor who previously served in the Delaware General Assembly...
Senator Chris Coons and Dr. Mike Katz discussed many issues Thursday at a forum hosted by the Rotary Club of Wilmington on the first day of early voting in Delaware.
(Senator Chris Coons and challenger Dr. Mike Katz address healthcare affordability in this segment of their forum hosted by the Rotary Club of Wilmington. They also discuss why they are the best candidate with WDEL's Mark Fowser)
Katz returned to a failure in leadership on such issues as addressing affordability of healthcare, solvency of Social Security and Medicare, and the handling of wars overseas. Coons, in turn, said the failure lies with President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress.
On the issue of trade tariffs, Katz - who won the Republican primary in September - said they can be used as a tool, "but they need to be targeted and combat unfair subsidies, dumping of intellectual property, and theft and discriminatory trade barriers."
Coons, however, said tariffs have been very harmful: "of all of the things President Trump has done to weaken our standing in the world, to raise your costs and frankly to hurt the American consumer, his chaotic tariff war against our closest allies is the worst."
Katz at one point directed the discussion to the inner workings of campaigning in Delaware. During an answer about the war between Ukraine and Russia, Katz - without specifically naming names - alleged that he and his staff had been subject to hacking, threats, fear and intimidation.
"There is a crisis here in Delaware of the Democratic process itself," Katz said. "Delaware's political process has been corrupted when those in power silence opposition and suppress the people. They become the authoritarian rulers they claim to oppose."
Coons, meanwhile, said he did not know what Katz was referring two when he alleged there is a "media blackout" surrounding the campaign.
The Democratic incumbent also addressed the allegation of failed leadership: "He tried to blame Congress for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to blame me for the failures of the war in Iran, when in fact I think responsibilities really rest with the President and the Republican majority in Congress."
Three write-in candidates are also running for U.S. Senate.
