Congressman Russ Fulcher is not shy about telling people why he deserves a fourth term as Idaho’s 1st District representative. But he has no desire to make his case on a debate stage, or even give his opponents the time of day.
Fulcher’s primary challenger is Democrat Kaylee Peterson of Eagle, who is making her second run for the seat. Brendan Gomez (Constitutional Party) and Matt Loesby (Libertarian) also are on the ballot.
But to Fulcher, he doesn’t see enough there to warrant his attention.
“We monitor these things closely and there is no objective metric of a viable campaign,” Fulcher says. “To sign up for a debate would be the single largest contribution they would have, and I’m not in the business of campaigning for my opponents. I’m not afraid to debate, but I’m not stupid either. They’re going to have to do their own campaigning.”
Peterson has not lacked for effort. The 34-year-old mother of two, who has turned congressional campaigning into a long-term project, is a community activist and student at the College of Western Idaho. Her candidacy has at least some viability, with endorsements from labor unions. The Idaho Statesman endorsed her two years ago, and she very well could get it again given the paper’s overall disagreements with Fulcher. Peterson has spent much of this campaign meeting with various people in communities and holding town hall meetings for Republicans in rural pockets.
But getting attention as a Democrat running in one of the nation’s most conservative districts has been a challenge. Editors and reporters have not shown interest in her campaign, figuring that the race is basically decided, and lining up speaking engagements with civic organizations have been difficult with that pesky “D” attached to her name. Her biggest problem might be running in the wrong state. She fully backs Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid and embraces her plans for the economy, which can be problematic in an area that former President Trump is expected to win big.
But her campaign is not all about presidential politics. She says that Fulcher, and the Idaho congressional delegation as a whole, are not working for Idaho families.
“Russ Fulcher travels up and down the state telling his followers that politics is good vs. evil and that his Democratic colleagues want to turn us into some socialist Venezuelan state,” she says. “It’s easy to see why people believe I am the enemy. My job is to go into the most conservative rural areas and show them that I am an Idahoan who just wants good common-sense policies, which we have not seen from our congressional delegation.”
She chides Fulcher for under-funded infrastructure projects in the district and fostering an environment that has produced low wages. “Our families are struggling. We have all these issues that can be solved at the federal level that are not being addressed right now, and we have a congressman who loves to make political points.”
Fulcher argues that his “points” are for better government. And, of course, he backs Trump.
“We have a wall coming, and it’s in the form of a $35 trillion debt,” he says. “I am not for begging the federal government for funds that it doesn’t have. The answer is state and local control and the resources we have here.”
In the big picture, Fulcher says, he stands with a party that embraces a free-market economy, individual liberty and personal freedoms. “The other side” is more in tune with western European style of socialism “with things like electric-vehicle mandates, more government programs, energy dependence, an open-border strategy and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).”
The 62-year-old Fulcher says his range of experience – 20 years on a farm, 20 years in international business, 10 years in the Idaho Senate and three terms in Congress gives him an attractive resume. He’s also gaining seniority on committees that are related to energy, commerce and natural resources – which cover a wide range of interests in Idaho.
Peterson says she’s not going away regardless of the outcome in this election and, with her age, time is on her side for winning over the district. The question is whether conservative voters there will ever look beyond party labels.
Chuck Malloy is a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at [email protected].
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