Here’s what BSU political scientist emeritus Jim Weatherby had to say today about the decision of three prominent Republican candidates – governor candidate Butch Otter, lieutenant governor candidate Jim Risch, and state controller candidate Donna Jones – to skip the usual live statewide debate this year on Idaho Public Television:

“It’s the nature of the one-party system, I guess, but that may change too with that kind of approach. … When all you get for a statewide race is maybe one debate and maybe no debates at all, representative democracy is not well served. It probably makes smart politics, but it’s not good for representative democracy. At some point, I think the voters will start pushing back.”

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