Candidates For Oklahoma's 1st Congressional Seat Debate On NewsOn6.com

News On 6 presented a debate between all the candidates seeking Oklahoma's District 1 Congressional seat.

Democrat John Olson, Republican Jim Bridenstine and Independent Craig Allen are seeking the seat now held by John Sullivan.

The three men debated for 30 minutes Tuesday night at Oral Roberts University. No matter what the topic was, the candidates always brought the discussion back to government spending.

Republican Jim Bridenstine is a U.S. Navy veteran who wants to take a conservative approach to Washington.

"We have to look at the entire federal budget, and we have to take a very realistic look at how we control federal spending," said First Congressional Candidate Jim Bridenstine.

John Olson is a U.S. Army veteran. His plan is to reduce spending and invest where it makes sense.

"If you want somebody who's going to roll up their sleeves and get to work and bring Oklahoma values to Washington, I'm your guy," said John Olson, candidate for the First District.

The independent in the race, Craig Allen, wants to bring a "common sense" method to Capitol Hill.

"What I bring is the freedom to represent people in this district without major party rhetoric, without a lot of debt and just have the freedom to have anybody guide us through what we're going to do or where we're going to go," said candidate Craig Allen.

The candidates sounded off on the Affordable Care Act. Both Olson and Allen feel there are parts that work and parts that don't.

"Nobody says that this bill is perfect, but it's absolutely a step in the right direction," Olson said.

"Maybe we ought to take a look at it and take the four or five things we all like in it and then build on top of that and try two or three things at a time and see how it works out," said Allen.

However Bridenstine says Obamacare is forcing people to buy insurance that includes abortion-inducing drugs, which goes against many conservative views.

"He is being forced to either obey the laws of the country he loves or obey his religious beliefs. That's not a decision anybody in this country should ever be forced to make," he said.

All three candidates did agree the first thing that needs to be done in Washington is to pass a budget.

The debate was moderated by News On 6 anchors Terry Hood and Scott Thompson. News On 6 teamed up with Oral Roberts University to stream the debate live on NewsOn6.com.