Rep. Mike Simpson shouldn’t have ducked the debate with Smith. He owes Idaho voters more
Debates are for voters, not candidates. Longtime Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, should not have ducked a debate with his far-right challenger, Idaho Falls attorney and debt collector Bryan Smith.
As Betsy Russell of the Idaho Press reported Monday, the regular debate for the second congressional district has been canceled because Simpson refused to debate Smith. Idaho Public TV’s rules say if you don’t have two candidates, you don’t have a debate.
The animosity between Simpson and Smith is long-standing and well-known. It’s understandable that Simpson would not want to debate Smith. But that’s the kind of feeling you overcome for the sake of transparency to voters.
Simpson and Smith are certainly not the first two political opponents to dislike one another — most political opponents are not friends. If personal animosity is enough to prevent a debate, then there wouldn’t ever be debates.
Voters deserve to see the candidates square off and address important issues, as they did the last time Smith challenged Simpson in 2014. That year, the two participated in multiple debates. It did not sink Simpson’s chances — he won with a 24-point margin.
A live debate is important because it allows voters to see each candidate reacting on their feet. Simpson handled Smith well in 2014, responding calmly but forcefully to his criticisms. The debates likely helped Simpson more than they hurt him that year, and there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t have done the same this year.
But more fundamentally, Simpson owed participation to his voters — the people who have put him in office since 1998. Refusing to participate is disrespectful to them.
We hope that, should he win the primary, Simpson will agree to participate in general election debates with the Democratic nominee.
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