What do you do when you’re challenging a Senate incumbent who first says he’ll debate you, then refuses to debate or even appear on the same television program? You go solo.

As the Republican challenger for South Dakota’s U.S. Senate seat, it was a surreal experience this week sitting on the set of SD Public Broadcasting at a candidate forum with only one chair. Originally scheduled as a debate, SDPB changed the format when incumbent Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) reneged on his pre-primary promise to debate his Republican opponent.

If Tim Johnson thought the voters of our state were uninterested, he could not have been more wrong. The phone lines lit up for the entire hour of the program as I answered question after question from viewers about issues ranging from energy policy to the financial meltdown to Veteran’s benefits. They wanted to know about the main differences between my views and those of Tim Johnson’s. They wanted to know what I thought about Tim Johnson relying upon his seniority as the primary basis for electing him to serve for the next six years. On and on. Lots of great questions. Only one candidate answering them.

I felt privileged to interact with the voters of our state in such an open, honest public discussion. They deserve open access to their candidates for elected office. It is inconceivable to me that our incumbent Senator remains so inaccessible, so unwilling to discuss his voting record. Informed decisions can be made only when unscripted, unedited questions can be asked directly of the candidates.

Maybe that’s the point. Tim Johnson doesn’t want informed voters making this decision because he knows the facts work against him. The question is whether his strategy will be successful or if the voters will hold him accountable anyway.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Uncategorized .