Butch Otter and Keith Allred have been quickly and directly addressing lots of questions: Road funding, parks funding, what their opponent does better than them, the Boulder-White Clouds wilderness (Otter against, Allred for), and education cuts. "Obviously it was painful for us to do," Otter said of the cuts. Allred said, "During the Otter Administration we have let tax deadbeats steal textbooks from Idaho schoolkids."

As for what the other does better, Allred said, "Butch Otter is a good sport when he comes off his horse. I don't know I just don't come off my horse as much." He then added that he thinks Otter is better and reaching out to people, convening and listening to them. "The problem comes on the back end, nothing ever happens. ... We've had a lot of window dressing." Otter said, "Where to begin. Well, I would tell you that I'm impressed with Keith's credentials, you know, the fact that he went to Columbia, the fact that he taught at Harvard for so many years. I would tell you that that's very impressive, but it's also very theoretical and you have to have more than theory to run government."