Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin could agree on this much.
Neither of them wanted to show up for an Idaho Public Television debate.
So the May 3 Republican gubernatorial candidates’ debate is officially off.
On Friday, Little was the first candidate to back out — refusing the Idaho Public Television and KTVB debates, and drawing sharp criticisms from GOP rivals McGeachin and Ed Humphreys.
McGeachin had originally agreed to the Idaho Public Television debate, but that was before Little backed out. When Little canceled, McGeachin said she wouldn’t participate if Little was a no-show.
Debate organizers gave McGeachin a 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline to reconsider. The deadline came and went without a response.
Since that left Humphreys as the only candidate committed to the debate, the debate was canceled.
Tuesday’s news leaves three debates on the Idaho Public Television schedule:
- April 19: Republican candidates for attorney general.
- April 25: Republican candidates for superintendent of public instruction.
- April 26: Republican candidates for secretary of state.
The Idaho Public Television debates, the Idaho Debates, are a partnership between the Idaho Press Club, Idaho Public Television, the League of Women Voters of Idaho and the state’s public universities.
