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As the countdown to the general election continues, the top two congressional candidates in the 7th District are fighting to further distinguish themselves.

Congressional candidates Pramila Jayapal and Brady Walkinshaw joined ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Radio’s Jason and Burns to discuss why voters should choose them in the general election.

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Jayapal, who received approximately 42 percent of the vote in a field with nine candidates, has pushed for better gender and income equality.

“That decisive primary shows people are looking for someone who is a fighter and will stand up for working people,” she told Jason and Burns. “A lot of people feel the economy is working against them.”

Walkinshaw received about 21 percent of the primary vote. He argues he has built a record of getting “actual results” in the state Legislature. Walkinshaw has focused on environmental issues. He says the Legislature needs to work better at forging common ground.

What both congressional candidates are focused on

Of the hot-button topics politicians face, immigration reform is one that both congressional candidates believe should be focused away from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Walkinshaw says politicians need to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

“It is a personal issue for me,” he said. “I grew up in a rural part of our state on the Canadian border. A lot of immigrants where I grew up. My mother ran the migrant education programs in the public schools I went to.”

He says immigration reform needs to be passed for several reasons, including the benefit it would bring to the economy. It could generate “hundreds of billions” if people who are living in the country illegally are brought out of the shadows, according to Walkinshaw. Additionally, he wants to make sure unaccompanied minors receive the proper help.

Trump’s proposed approach to further secure borders by spending billions is the wrong approach; that money should be used for things such as childhood education, Walkinshaw said.

Jayapal says immigration reform is something she has worked on for more than a decade. She hopes Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is elected so Democrats can “take back some seats in the House” and the Senate majority.

“I think we have a real shot of getting this done,” she said. “People believe we need a pathway for undocumented immigrants. People believe we should have families united.”

The processes for people attempting to enter the country should be updated, she says. And she argues that some of the most successful migration comes from a circular flow, where seasonal workers can work in the US and return to their home countries easier. The more the country builds up a wall, she says, the less likely people are to return home.