Arizona Democratic congressional candidate Hiral Tipirneni said on Sunday that President Donald Trump's proposed border wall is "not the answer."
Dennis Welch, host of 3TV’s "Politics Unplugged," asked Tipirneni if she thought additional border fencing was necessary.
"Do you see a need for more border fencing?" Welch asked.
"Look, there’s no doubt we need to keep our border secure. We need to have the safety of our citizenry first and foremost. But the wall is not the answer," Tipirneni said. "There are better ways, certainly, to spend almost $22 billion, which is the projected cost. And there might be areas that we can enhance, strengthen (inaudible) the wall. We can use technology and innovation. We know all of those things can be employed to make us safer."
Tipirneni went on to say the border wall wouldn't make citizens safer and she believes there are better ways to spend the $18 billion requested for Trump's border wall.
"But the idea of a wall is not going to make us safer. Look, there are better ways to use that money," Tipirneni said.
The host asked the Democratic candidate what programs she would fund instead of the border wall.
Tipirneni responded by pointing to infrastructure, education, and clean energy.
"Infrastructure. That is a huge area where we know we need to work and we need to build up our cities. We need to build up our communities. There are crumbling bridges and roadways and, you know, we could invest in things like high-speed rail," Tipirneni said. "Education. That is the core of so much to help our citizenry and help our communities grow and thrive. Um, there are a lot of other areas. Clean energy. Renewable energy sources."
Tipirneni is running in the special election in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District after former Rep. Trent Fanks (R., Ariz.) resigned in response to sexual harassment allegations. Tipirneni will face off against Republican candidate and former state senator Debbie Lesko in a district that Trump won by more than 20 percentage points in 2016.
The special election will be held on April 24.