BOISE - The May 15 primary election is right around the corner. Sunday night we heard from two democratic gubernatorial candidates: Paulette Jordan and AJ Balukoff.
Monday night, Dr. Tommy Ahlquist, Congressman Raul Labrador, and Lt. Governor Brad Little had the stage.
The tone on Monday was very different than what we saw Sundayin the democratic debate, to no surprise. Topics ranged from health care, to gun laws, to tax cuts.
It was the question about the attack ads that all three candidates have engaged in that drew the most fireworks.
Each candidate has responded to them with cries of misinterpreting his character, or flat-out lying.
"Probably one of the most disturbing ones was I was driving my 15-year-old daughter a couple of weeks ago and she pulled up an ad that was being run by one of my opponents with me dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit saying that I was a dirty filthy racist," said Ahlquist.
Labrador addressed that claim, saying he had nothing to do with the ad, claiming it was a blogger who created it.
"My campaign had nothing to do with that blog and I actually asked him to take down that picture because I found it to be offensive," said Labrador. "He has lied about my record on immigration he has lied about my record on voting with President Trump. He does it again and again. They have brought a level of campaigning that has never existed in Idaho."
Ahlquist responded by saying he would too disavow any ads that he found to be absolutely untrue.
Little says the biggest lie told about him is that he's not a conservative Republican and that he will raise taxes.
"Over and over I've voted, time and time again, to reduce the tax level in the state of Idaho," Little said. "I've governed, whether I was serving the Senate or as lieutenant governor, with the lightest possible hand of government. That's why the state of Idaho is in the leadership position as far as debt, that's why all these other states are having problems with debt."
The candidates went on to discuss other topics like education, abortion, and economic growth.
Next week, KTVB will sponsor another round of debates at the Brandt Center at NNU.
Republican candidates go head-to-head on April 30 at 5:30 and Democrats get their turn on May 1 at 6 p.m.