Statesman endorsement: Fulcher is the better candidate in Republican primary for U.S. House

In the Republican primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1st Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Russ Fulcher is the better choice.

Fulcher earns the Statesman endorsement in the primary over his challenger, Boise business owner Nicholas Jones.

While this board disagrees with Fulcher on many issues, he nonetheless is better prepared than Jones to represent his constituents.

With one term in the House under his belt and 12 years as a state senator before that, Fulcher has more experience, shows a deeper knowledge of the key issues and demonstrates a greater understanding of public policy than his challenger, who is a political novice.

Fulcher said one of his greatest accomplishments in the House so far is effectively delivering constituent services, helping Idahoans navigate problems with federal agencies or resolve other similar issues. Fulcher has built a staff to handle these questions, while Jones would have to start from scratch.

Ideologically, Jones does not stray very far from Fulcher, both residing on the far right of the Republican Party.

Jones offered answers to questions about health care, deregulation and federal lands that suggested straight party-line talking points without reasoning or alternative solutions.

Both Fulcher and Jones said they opposed the impeachment of President Donald Trump, a position that Republican voters in this district generally would support. But Jones gave a bizarre reason, stating that as a representative in the House, he would have voted no because impeachment in the House is a political action, requiring a member of the Republican Party to vote with his party.

Fulcher holds no delusions about his role as a member of the minority party in the House in a hyper-partisan environment. He told the editorial board about his efforts to reach out to members of the other party by bringing them gift bags of Idaho Spud bars and Idaho potato chips with a hand-written note — all in an effort to establish connections.

That’s encouraging, but we think it’s going to take more than just gift bags. It’s going to take listening and compromise, not just fighting and trying to “win.” As a member of the so-called House Freedom Caucus, Fulcher likely will have a difficult time working with members of the Democratic Party on much-needed solutions to problems facing the country.

Our health care system still needs to be fixed. We have no discernible policy on immigration. We have crumbling infrastructure that needs to be improved. Our federal debt is $25 trillion, and our annual budget deficit has been running about $1 trillion per year, likely $3 trillion or more this year.

The representatives and senators we send to Washington to fix these problems seem to be more interested in partisan bickering than solving problems.

The more Fulcher can do to work on bipartisan solutions, the better off his constituents will be. And Fulcher said one of his top priorities is to facilitate discussions on the federal debt, which we support.

Fulcher said that while he supported the right of citizens to protest the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, he thought demonstrating in front of a person’s private home, as was done in Idaho at a Meridian police officer’s house, as well as the governor’s own residence, was inappropriate, a view the board believes is shared by the vast majority of Idahoans.

We continue to be concerned about some of Fulcher’s positions, such as his vote against the Violence Against Women Act, putting gun-rights ideology ahead of the safety of domestic violence victims.

His use of his time on the House floor during the impeachment trial to stand silent for 30 seconds was gimmicky and, frankly, embarrassing to Idaho.

When asked about immigration reform, he defaulted to talking about illegal drugs coming in through our border with Mexico.

Fulcher ran to the right of Idaho Gov. Butch Otter in the 2014 Republican primary for governor, riding a wave of far-right hysteria over the state health exchange, which has turned out to benefit thousands of Idahoans.

When asked about universal health care that included some form of supplemental insurance, Fulcher told the board he didn’t want to create a system of haves and have-nots, without acknowledging that the current system is doing that — and has for years.

In a bipartisan vote of 363-40 in the House, Fulcher voted against the Families First Coronavirus Act, which guaranteed free coronavirus testing, secured paid emergency leave, enhanced unemployment Insurance, strengthened food security initiatives and increased federal Medicaid funding to states. Fulcher said he voted against the measure because it was still being written and Republicans had been left out of the negotiations. But all three of the other Republican members of Idaho’s federal delegation and President Trump supported the bill.

We remain skeptical that Fulcher, in a second term, will be able to reach across the aisle and be part of the solution.

Still, Jones did not convince us that he would be a strong enough candidate to replace Fulcher.

Jones, owner of the Good Burger restaurant chain and other businesses, speaks from experience when he talks about deregulation. But he also told the board that as a business owner, he doesn’t offer his employees health insurance and does not want to require them to use his health insurance provider, which stipulates that its customers must be Christian.

Fulcher, who grew up on a dairy farm in Meridian, has worked in the electronics industry, including several years for Micron, and transitioned to commercial real estate brokerage. He cites his business experience and his travels to 57 countries as an advantage.

The winner of this primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary between Staniela Nikolova and Rudy Soto. This board endorsed Soto in that race.

On the Republican side, Fulcher is the better bet to send to the general election.

This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.