Gubernatorial candidates Rob McKenna and Jay Inslee went head to head Tuesday night at the Yakima Convention Center, trying to court voters in one of the most heated races for the governor's seat in Washington in decades. They went back and forth on issues like taxes, healthcare, and the economy. Being that it’s just 32 days from election day, Action News wanted to find out what issues were most important to voters living in the Central Washington region.

Both candidates agree that Washington needs more jobs but their solutions couldn't be more different.
“Business of the state-small companies especially that will bring us back from high unemployment. We need to make it easier for them. more affordable for them to grow their companies and hire people," said Republican candidate Rob McKenna.

“We need and have a 75 point plan on how we can help small businesses, medium businesses and large businesses to capture opportunity inherent in an innovative and technologically savvy industrial growth," sayS Democratic candidate Jay Inslee.

The two candidates also touched on legalizing marijuana and education funding, which once again highlighted the differences between their two views and the big decision facing voters next month.

The debate was held in Yakima so both candidates also spoke about ways to crack down on gang violence. Inslee wants to give law enforcement the resources it needs to adequately go after gangs and run the prisons. While McKenna would convince the legislatures that it's a real problem and aggressively go after gang leaders. However, both do agree that it’s important to have programs in place to keep kids out of gangs and in school.

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