Sandpoint debate features LaRocco, Rammell

SANDPOINT - Election season is officially under way, and Bonner County residents will have a chance to indulge their political appetites Wednesday when U.S. Senate candidates Rex Rammell and Larry LaRocco debate in Sandpoint.

Rammell, an independent from Rexburg, and Boise Democrat LaRocco are both vying for the Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho.

The pair will square off at 5 p.m. at the Sandpoint Center community room for an hour-long debate.

It will be the second of a scheduled 10 debates the duo will undertake before the November general election.

Leading Republican candidate, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, was invited to participate but will most likely not be present at the event, according to LaRocco.

Though both candidates trail Risch in the polls, LaRocco sees the debates as an avenue to show Bonner County residents that he is up to the task of representing them in the Senate.

"It will be an opportunity to speak to the public and let them know about me - who I am and what I believe - and share my vision for Idaho.

"I just think I'm the one who's in touch and (Risch) is the one who's out of touch by not participating in these debates," LaRocco said.

Even without Risch, LaRocco and Rammell will find plenty to disagree about.

"We'll have a lively debate about our positions," LaRocco said. "He's an arch conservative and I'm a moderate, but we like each other and think it's important for Idahoans to know where we stand."