Candidates Adler and Runyan show their differences in debate

Democratic U.S. Rep. John Adler portrayed himself as one of the most centrist members of Congress in a debate taped Thursday afternoon, even as his Republican challenger, Jon Runyan, accused him of marching in lockstep with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The otherwise tame half-hour debate, which will be televised on Larry Kane's Voice of Reason on the Comcast Network, featured a lot of agreement: Both men said that federal spending was out of control, that the proposed Manhattan mosque would be too close to ground zero, and that Social Security should never be privatized.

And both said they are pro-choice, although Runyan added caveats like parental consent for minors and an opposition to partial-birth and tax-funded abortions.

Adler was unequivocal: "I'm for freedom. I'm for our Constitution. I'm for a woman's right to choose."

Runyan invoked the Constitution, too. The political novice and former offensive lineman for the Eagles said he believes states should have the power to make their own decisions on offshore oil drilling, as per the states' rights provision of the 10th Amendment.

Otherwise, he said, "that's the federal government growing and getting into people's business."

Adler described offshore oil drilling as an "absolutely disastrous idea."

The candidates also clashed on bank bailouts. Shortly after taking office in January 2009, Adler voted against releasing $350 billion in bailout money.

Runyan also opposes the bailouts, but Adler said he had flipped his position. While still in the NFL and before he was an official House candidate, Runyan told The Inquirer that he probably would have voted for the bailouts. He said at the debate that he had not been fully educated on the issue at the time. He has since done significant research, his campaign said.

Adler, a former state senator from Cherry Hill, won the Third Congressional District seat in 2008 after longtime Republican incumbent Jim Saxton stepped down. The district covers parts of Burlington, Camden, and Ocean Counties.

Adler, 51, has the advantage in fund-raising, but Runyan, 36, who lives in Mount Laurel, has name recognition and deeper personal pockets. The district generally leans Republican.

In a Rutgers University poll this month, Adler was favored by 31 percent of the respondents, compared with Runyan's 25 percent - a gap within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. Third-party candidate Peter DeStefano, a picture framer from Mount Laurel, had 4 percent.