Meuser, Wallace clash repeatedly on issues in PA 9th District debate
Matthew TothThe candidates for Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District came out swinging on the debate stage Oct. 20 at Penn State Schuylkill's Morgan Auditorium.
Democratic challenger Rachel Wallace, a Pottsville native, started by insisting Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser had doubled his stock portfolio since becoming a congressman, alleged he was in league with data centers, and had not hosted a public town hall in his eight years in office.
"Dan Meuser has shown that he is in this for himself, and I am in this to fight for us," she said. "To lower costs, to root out fraud and corruption in Washington, and to bring people together to solve local problems."
Meuser rebutted Wallace's remarks, saying that his opponent came "right out the gate with lies." Meuser, who has served in Congress since 2019, defended his record while attacking Democrats and attempting to link Wallace with individuals including former President Barack Obama, former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
"I'm a problem-solving conservative," he said. "I focus on constituent services, legislation that is in your interests, communications that are give and take, we do a lot of communications and projects."
The two candidates spent the nearly 90-minute session disagreeing on just about every topic during the debate organized by the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce. Wallace and Meuser sparred over eight questions that included the economy, health care, immigration, agriculture, the war with Iran, and the ongoing issues with data centers.
At multiple points during the debate, Wallace would ask Meuser direct questions about his policies and voting record. During a question about agricultural concerns, Wallace claimed that Meuser was siding with data center developers instead of farmers.
"People are tired of high costs and corruption, especially our farmers who work so hard so we can feed our families," Wallace said. "And so, we deserve to know, Dan, why have you voted against our farmers over and over again, supporting these high costs for them while giving data center developers a tax break?”
"You're asking me a question?" Meuser responded. "I'll bet you I get 80% of the farmer vote throughout Pennsylvania's 9th because of the work I've done."
"I guess we'll see," Wallace said.
Energy and data centers
Throughout the debate, Wallace highlighted Meuser's support for data center development, saying that she will vote to have local control for data center development and forcing those developers to "pay their own way."
"He has voted to give an $80 billion tax break to data center developers," she said. "He told our farmers at the Pennsylvania Farm Show that data centers were a great opportunity."
Meuser asked Wallace to name the bill Wallace was talking about regarding the tax breaks for data center developers, adding later that the GOP voted for "competitive tax rates for all industries."
"By the way, I've been talking about data centers well before you moved back here," Meuser stated to Wallace. "I've said from the very beginning ... local jurisdiction, it must be the most ideal situation. Ask for the stars, don't settle for the moon, if, in fact, you can get better benefit packages and everything else that makes sense for communities."
Meuser also took time to defend the One Big Beautiful Bill, including limiting taxes on tips and overtime. The congressman claimed that under Biden, gasoline was over $5, but agreed that gas prices need to come down, with ideas including opening up Alaska to build pipelines and developing more fossil fuel programs.
"My party is interested in growing the economy, not growing the size of government," he said. "That's a big difference between our two parties and the paths that we want to go on. The Democrat party wants to grow government, we want to minimize the government and grow the economy. That's how America became as great as we are."
Wallace said 50% of the commonwealth's natural gas comes from Pennsylvania 9th congressional district, and she wants to still keep that development. But citing the war with Iran and rise of data centers, Wallace said that energy costs are skyrocketing out of control for residents.
"I can't tell you how many people come up to me on the campaign trail and tell me, 'I paid under $300 for home heating oil last year, and now it's over $600,'" she said. "One woman called me and said, 'I put $900 worth of heating oil in my home, and I didn't fill the tank up.'"
Iran War
Meuser admitted on the debate stage that the war "has not gone as planned," but added that the goal is still "very virtuous." The congressman claimed that Iranians were on the verge of enriching enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb, and that U.S. intervention was needed to stop an imminent threat.
"The Iran war is not about energy," he said. "Obviously ... it's about not allowing a terrorist regime, the worst nation on the face of the Earth, that has created all kinds of terrorist activities and has murdered Americans for the last 47 years, to keep them from getting a nuclear bomb."
At multiple times, Wallace stated that she planned to vote on an end to the war in Iran. Wallace told Meuser that the war has raised fuel prices for everyone, while providing very little on security for the United States.
"Don't they still have uranium and missiles and drones? Are we safer today than we were eight months ago?" she asked the congressman. "No, we're paying more for gas and home heating oil. These policies have failed."
Immigration
Meuser said policies by the Republican-led Congress and the Trump Administration have secured the border, and he blamed previous problems with the Biden Administration.
"The border was allowing millions of people to cross. In the last 17 months, there's been not one illegal," he said. "That means the level of fentanyl is down. The data shows it. The number of deaths caused by your administration, caused by the Biden-Harris, perhaps Wallace influence was shut down."
Meuser added that lawmakers need a real plan for those who are in the United States illegally that is "humane, makes sense, and provides dignity" to those who have been here in the last 10 years. But the U.S. government should "go to war" with drug cartels.
Meuser also gave his support for the SAVE Act, or the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which the GOP-led House has said would prevent noncitizens from voting. He said that the United States is a welcoming country, but Democrat leaders are not providing a true picture of the issues on the border.
"I went to the border three different times, and I actually traveled there with Democrats, and they would come back and tell a different story of exactly what we all saw," he said. "It was just a farce. This is a disaster that went on for years."
Wallace stated that the immigration system right now is "broken," but added that both parties agree there should be secure borders and want to stop the flow of fentanyl from coming over the border. But she added that in the eight years the congressman has been in office, Meuser has done nothing to solve the immigration system.
"Congressman, I do agree with you that it seems like we go from one extreme to the other with immigration, and that is because the executive branch is driving the policy," she said. "But it's Congress' (problem) to fix. Congress needs to get something done, and you haven't done it."
After debate
Once the debate finished, Meuser told reporters that he believes Wallace to be a socialist and that residents of the 9th Congressional District want to say "a hard no" to what the extreme left is all about.
"It's a we effort," he said to the Lebanon Daily News about his campaign. "Those who are out there supporting us, those who are my constituents who voted for me in the past. Those who are for the agenda that we are about. Competitive tax rates, growing the economy, doing our best to minimize the size of government ... everybody who is part of that is part of we."
During and after the debate, Meuser said that Wallace was taking funds from billionaire George Soros, the congressman added that Wallace was a liar, attempting to distort the facts of what he and the GOP-lead Congress has done in the last two years.
The congressman also said that the Berks and Schuylkill County warehouses that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security once considered for immigration detention centers were not his call. But once they were announced, he said his office got involved immediately about the projects.
"It was exposed to (DHS) that these aren't going to work, because of various facility requirements and other requirements," he said. "So it looks like it was a big mistake on Homeland's part to buy those."
Wallace told the Lebanon Daily News that the debate showed a clear contrast between the two candidates, adding that she never got an answer from the congressman when she confronted him with questions.
"I thought he brought up a lot of distractions," she said. "If you follow my campaign, you know I've been very clear about what kind of a Democrat I am. That shows with my endorsements and how we've run this campaign, and it's almost like he hasn't been paying attention."
Addressing Meuser's comments after the debate, Wallace said that she is not a socialist and has never taken funds or had contact with Soros. When asked by the Lebanon Daily News reporters why Wallace used her time to directly question the congressman, Wallace said she wanted to use her time hold Meuser accountable.
"I felt that I said what was important for me for the topic, and that I wanted the opportunity to share with people 'This is who I am, this is what I would fight for,'" she said.
The Pennsylvania 9th Congressional District includes all of Lebanon, Bradford, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties, and parts of Luzerne, Berks and Lycoming counties.
Election dates
The 2026 midterm election is scheduled for Nov. 3. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is Oct. 27.
Residents looking for more information can visit the Lebanon County Voter Registration Office website at www.lebcounty.org/depts/Voter_Registration or contact them by phone at 717-228-4428.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at [email protected] or on X at @DAMattToth.