Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) was first elected to Congress in 1988. His Republican challenger for Massachusetts’ 1^st Congressional District, Dean Martilli, runs a political consulting firm and once worked for Democrat Patrick Kennedy when he served as a congressman in Rhode Island.

Both are talking issues on the campaign trail including immigration, energy, and inflation. On immigration, both say action is needed but their approaches are different.

"If we could come to conclusion on what the nature of immigration is, acknowledging we need a steady stream of immigrants,” Neal said. “Simultaneously we also need to understand that there has to be a process and a path for them to undertake so that we understand and know who is in the country."

Martilli believes the southern border needs to be closed and immigrants need to go through a process.

"In the term of Biden being there, at the rate we're going over 2 million illegals a year, we'll have created a whole new state with just illegals,” Martilli said. “We don't know who they are. They're getting money from the government that citizens are paying for."

On record high inflation, Neal said it’s an international issue impacted in part by the war in Ukraine.

"The U.K. is at 11%, Europe is in double digits as well,” Neal said. “So I think there has to be some empathy and understanding of what’s happening to the American family and simultaneously also acknowledging that the unemployment rate in America is a 3.5 %, so just about anybody in America who wants a job right now could have one ..."

Martilli said President Biden's approach to combating rising energy prices will lead to long-term consequences.

"They're only staying down temporarily because of President Biden selling off the strategic petroleum preserve,” Martilli said. “So they're gonna escalate, and then up here in the northeast we're facing cold conditions and heating is gonna be a difficult thing where we're gonna have black outs and brown outs. People just need to look at gas, look at energy, look at their groceries."

Martilli believes the country can do better.

"The plan is you gotta go energy independent,” Martilli said. “We gotta get back to making our own energy and selling it to other countries not drawing down to strategic petroleum preserves."

Neal said energy costs are also directly tied to the Ukraine war, but said he supported federal funding for low income families.

"That is going to distort international energy markets while simultaneously understanding that when that happens, people are likely to pay higher home heating bills that will impact New England,” Neal said.

“So I think long-term, LIHEAP in Massachusetts, which is now scheduled for $38 million dollars, that makes a great deal of sense, but if you have a very harsh winter you're going to need a lot more than that."

On transportation, Neal supports east-west rail because he thinks it will create opportunities for western Massachusetts. Martilli said it’s more important to create jobs in the region and east-west rail will likely only benefit the eastern part of the state.