BOISE, Idaho — The November 8 general election is now just over a week away. Voters across Idaho will head to the polls to decide on who they want to represent them in key federal and state offices.
Viewpoint has been focusing on some of the big races this year, including the race for U.S. Senate, lieutenant governor and now Idaho attorney general.
Republican nominee for Idaho attorney general, Raul Labrador, is the guest on this edition of Viewpoint. The former congressman is an attorney who served two terms in the Idaho House of Representatives and four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as the congressman representing Idaho's first congressional district. He defeated five-term incumbent Attorney General Lawrence Wasden in the May Republican primary. Labrador lives in Eagle, Idaho with his wife Rebecca. They have five children and three grandchildren.
In this excerpt, Labrador explains his philosophy on the role of the attorney general.
Raul Labrador: "The people of Idaho are the state. That's what our constitution says, is that the state is there to provide for the freedom and liberty of the people of Idaho. So, that's totally wrong. Anyone who says that the attorney general is supposed to just a bureaucrat's attorney does not know how to read the constitution, does not know how to read our statutes. Now, we have to give legal advice to those entities, but our legal advice should be based on what the limits of the power of those different agencies and different elected officials is. It's not to justify more power. It's to make sure that we put a check on the power of the state."
Doug Petcash: "Last week on this show your opponent Tom Arkoosh says that you don't see the office as a law office but as an activist, political office. How do you respond to that?"
Raul Labrador: "It is the largest law office in the state and we're going to have the best lawyers in the state for our office. He has a problem because he, like seven times, I can't remember how many times, he kept calling me an extremist, an extremist. He doesn't really have an agenda. He doesn't really have anything specific to say about me. He keeps using these terms about extremism, and that's really dangerous to be calling your political opponents extremists because that leads to violence. It leads to other things."
Labrador also discussed his views on Idaho's strict new anti-abortion laws, the legality of school vouchers, the A-G's role in protecting consumers and businesses in Idaho, and more.
You can watch the full interview on Viewpoint Sunday morning at 9 o'clock here on KTVB.
Last week Democrat Tom Arkoosh was our guest on Viewpoint. The Boise Attorney with 44 years of legal experience laid out why he's running for attorney general, his view on the role of the attorney general and his thoughts on major Idaho political topics. You can watch the full interview here.
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