Little won't debate GOP challengers
Gov. Brad Little speaks to the media during a recent visit to Post Falls.
BILL BULEY/Press
Idaho Gov. Brad Little today announced he’s refusing to debate his GOP challengers, either in the “Idaho Debates” on Idaho Public Television or in KTVB-TV’s planned upcoming debate. His campaign said in a statement that Little’s record is “non-debatable” and that “Idahoans know what Gov. Little stands for.”
That makes Little the first sitting governor seeking reelection to refuse to participate in the Idaho Debates in more than three decades, said a Friday news release from the Idaho Press Club.
It is unclear whether a debate in the governor’s race will go forward without Little; debate organizers are conferring with the other candidates. Two GOP challengers for governor, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin and businessman Ed Humphreys, had met the active-campaign criteria and committed to participate in the debate before Little’s announcement.
Melissa Davlin of Idaho Public Television, the moderator of the debate, said, “Idaho Public Television reaches nearly every household in the state, and we know from past comments that many Republican primary voters rely on debates to inform their decisions at the ballot box.”
Currently scheduled Idaho Debates include the GOP candidates for Idaho attorney general on Tuesday; those for state superintendent of public instruction on April 25; and those for Idaho secretary of state on Aug. 26.
All debates will air at 8 pm on Idaho Public Television. For more information, visit idahoptv.org/idahodebates.
The Idaho Debates are a three-decade-plus institution in Idaho, featuring debates between active candidates for state offices in contested primary and general elections. They are a collaboration between the Idaho Press Club, Idaho Public Television, the League of Women Voters of Idaho and Idaho’s public universities.