- [Announcer] Welcome
to "The Idaho Debates",

a Q and A for congressional
district one Democratic primary.

"The Idaho Debates" is
organized by these partners.

Funding provided by the Friends
of Idaho Public Television,

The Idaho Public Television Endowment,

and the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting.

- Hello, and welcome
to "The Idaho Debates"

candidate Q and As

for Idaho's congressional
district one Democratic primary.

I'm Melissa Davlin.

This is the second of three
"Idaho Debates" programs

this primary season, and as
with everything this year,

we had to change our format to
allow for social distancing.

Here's a run-down.

Because candidates can't
campaign in traditional ways

that would normally determine
eligibility for our debates,

we waived the criteria to participate.

If a primary candidate is on the ballot

in a contested congressional race,

they received an
invitation to our program.

We taped the Q and As with
each candidate separately

via video teleconferencing.

They were given the same eight questions,

and each was given 90 seconds to answer.

If they went a little over, I allowed them

to briefly finish their thought,

and we spliced their answers together

to make it easier for viewers to follow.

At the end of the program,

each candidate will give a
60 second closing statement.

While the format doesn't allow

for a back and forth between candidates

or follow-up questions from me,

it does get basic information
out to the voters,

which, like everything,
is a challenge this year.

Rudy Soto and Staniela
Nikolova are both running

to be the Democratic
nominee for this year's

congressional district one race.

That seat is currently held
by Congressman Russ Fulcher,

who faces his own primary challenge.

The winners of each primary will move on

to the November general election.

Here's where Soto and
Nicolova stand on the issues.

Why are you running?

- Thank you for the question, Melissa.

I'm really excited to be in the race

to be bringing a new set

of perspectives and
experiences to the table.

I was born and raised in Nampa.

I'm a Shoshone-Bannock member,

and son of a Mexican immigrant.

I grew up in public housing
among an impoverished community,

the type of circumstances

that lead a lot of kids into trouble.

I was one of them.

I spent the better part of two years,

between the ages of 12 and 14,

bouncing around in the
juvenile corrections system

here throughout the state,

and I'm fortunate, though.

At 15 I was able to turn things around,

go on, become the first in my family

to graduate from college,

and actually had even been elected

to serve as student body president.

I went on to then enlist,

serve in the US Army National Guard,

served five and a half years
in a field artillery unity,

four years in a military police unit,

became a non-commissioned officer,

then continued my career
at national nonprofits

in the fields of child
welfare, public health,

economic development.

I'm ready to hit the ground running.

I'm running for working
families, folks who struggle

to make ends meet, everyday Idahoans,

folks that just want a fair
shot at the American dream.

So thank you.

- I am really passionate about the law,

but I'm also really
passionate about solving

all of the problems that
I see in today's society.

I think that we have a lot of problems

that we could easily solve

through using legislative processes.

And I have lived in Idaho all of my life,

and I feel extremely connected
to the people who live here.

And I frankly think that
our federal government

could do better for the people of Idaho

and for the people of our nation.

So the reason that I'm running
is really a personal one

because in Congress, there was one day,

I think six or seven years ago.

I don't even remember when.

Somebody threw a snowball in Congress

and was talking about how
climate change isn't real

because it was snowing outside.

And that kind of scientific illiteracy

is not doing our population any justice.

We need to have legislators

who are taking their jobs seriously

and who can put partisan
politics behind them

to actually make effective
legislation for our people

because that's the job of your
representatives in Congress,

is to represent you and your needs

and to be able to balance
a budget effectively

while keeping up with
congressional oversight.

And I think that I could
do a really effective job

for Idaho's population
and for the population

of the United States in
being able to do this.

- How are you different
than your primary opponent?

- With my primary opponent, I
have only had the opportunity

to see his website and
to chat with him once.

So I think that in some of
the ways that I'm different

is just because I have a vast
amount of work experience.

I have 12 plus years working
in retail industries,

working in the fishing industry in Alaska,

working as a radio
chemistry lab technician.

So a variety of experiences,

but you add my Bachelor's degrees

and my scientific
background into that mix,

and now you add my legal
background into that mix.

I think that I can kind of give Idahoans

a little bit more of a
one candidate fits all

buttons of you, where my
opponent might not have some

of the skills that I do.

I also feel like I'm really
thorough in my analysis

of issues, and I am the
kind of candidate who,

I can't speak for my opponent,

but I can speak for myself.

And I'm the kind of candidate
that is going to push

for more participation from
the people that I represent

and for informed voters in a democracy.

And I think those are some of the programs

that I really want to see happening

so that the American people
and Idahoans have a chance

to fully participate.

And so I think my passion,
my fuel, my work ethic,

and my experience really sets me apart

from the other candidate.

- Thank you for that question.

I just wanna take a
moment to say thank you

to my opponent for running.

One of the reasons that
compelled me to get in this race

was not having seen
enough serious competitors

that could challenge the incumbent
in elections of the past,

and so voters having options
is of utmost importance.

These are crucial and challenging times

so who represents us in
government is everything.

And so

I'm excited to be in this race.

I won't say anything
to knock on my opponent

in any negative way,
but instead I will speak

to my own experience.

I've worked in Washington, DC.

I've spent a considerable
amount of time there,

working in the halls of
Congress with both sides

and with federal agencies.

So I'm ready to hit the ground running

for working families of Idaho.

Thank you.

- Has the US government
responded appropriately

to the COVID-19 outbreak?

- No, absolutely not.

This administration
eliminated and dissolved

the Pandemic Preparedness Response Team

that was put into place by
the previous administration

to serve as an early
warning system of sorts,

to help mitigate problems early on

to help us get out in front.

Instead, it's been disastrous.

There's no national strategy.

There's no plan.

We, as a nation, are leading the world

in the rate of infections and deaths.

In terms of getting relief
and stabilizing our economy

and stimulating the
situation for individuals

and working families and small businesses,

it's been way too slow and not enough.

Often times the money's
ended up in the wrong hands

for people that don't need the help

or large businesses and corporations.

But we have had some lessons learned,

that we need to shore
up our healthcare system

to make sure when someone's
sick they can go get treated

and not be furthering community spread

as well as how important many everyday,

working people's jobs are.

Our frontline healthcare workers,

delivery drivers, farm workers.

So we've got to pay people living wages.

- No, the US government has
not responded appropriately

to the COVID-19 outbreak.

There were a lot of problems

that could've absolutely been avoided

if we had a quicker response.

We needed to make sure that
the Defense Production Act

is being used to manufacture
testing supplies.

It is absolutely
ridiculous that states need

to form their own mini federal
governments with coalitions

to be able to adequately buy supplies

that are not going to bankrupt their state

because of price gouging
on the marketplace.

There's a time for capitalism and profits,

and there's a time for saving lives.

And right now we need to
focus on getting testing

out to the American public

because right now we still
have a problem with testing.

And the only way we're
getting our economy back

is either through a vaccine
or through being able

to test everybody.

I know that it seems
like it's a hard problem.

I know that it's going to require

a new kind of infrastructure to be able

to get the kind of PPE, the testing,

and the supply of free agents
and getting people trained

to be able to actually perform the tests

so that we can get a high throughput,

but we have to do it.

So it might be a hard problem,

but it's a problem we need to fix

because without testing, we are
not getting our economy back

and we are not guaranteeing the safety

of the American public.

So our federal government
needed to respond better

and quicker, and we need to start now,

even if we didn't before.

- What are your healthcare
policy priorities?

- So with healthcare, ideally,

it would be nice to
see healthcare for all.

I think that healthcare is a human right,

and I don't want to see people bankrupt

because they have an illness.

And I don't want to see people choose

between their child's illness
and their mortgage payment.

And so what I would like to see

is I want to see regulations

when it comes to medical care pricing.

So when it comes to procedure pricing

and just when you go to the hospital,

I want it to be across
the board, consistent.

And then I also think

we need consistent pharmaceutical pricing,

and we need to regulate it to make sure

that price gouging isn't
happening for life-saving drugs.

And similarly, I want to see a program

built from the federal government

that actually covers our
children's healthcare.

So I want to make sure

that we get rid of preventative diseases

by making sure that people
who are under 18 have access

to healthcare and that we can protect

our future generations in a way.

Healthcare for all is a
15 to 20 year program.

Healthcare for 18 and under is a program

that we can easily start
to begin to facilitate

to expand our medical care coverage

and make sure that there
are no children out there

that are going without health,
dental, or vision care.

- Access to affordable
healthcare is a human right.

This is personal for me because I grew up

with two siblings that have disabilities,

spina bifida and use wheel chairs.

And then experience with my dad,

who struggled with access
to affordable healthcare

that contributed to his premature passing.

Those are the types of reasons

that moved me to be a
health policy analyst

to work around the country
on getting people signed up

for Medicare, Medicaid,

and on ACA marketplace exchange plans.

So I support moving us
more toward affordable,

universal healthcare coverage

through the creation of a public option

for people that lack
healthcare insurance plans.

And I wanna work in a bipartisan fashion

with Congressman Mike Simpson

on addressing the opioid epidemic,

bringing down prescription drug prices,

expanding rural health, mental health,

and telehealth services.

There's a lot to be done,

and I'm ready to hit the ground running.

- Do you agree

with how the federal government
manages public lands?

- I'm against all efforts
to privatize public lands.

Idaho's leaders in Congress
and representatives

should always be at the forefront

of keeping our public
lands in public hands.

Hunting, fishing, hiking,
these are all important parts

of our heritage and
culture here as Idahoans.

We have to keep public lands public.

We need to further land
conservation, preserve ecosystems,

animal species and wildlife,
keep our air and water clean,

address climate change,

and I will work in a bipartisan
fashion to address these.

I'm excited about the prospect of working

with Congressman Simpson,
who's been leading the charge

in a very balanced way
on many of these issues.

I support furthering stewardship contracts

that allow for local interests

to work with key stakeholders

through a collaborative process

to make sure that when necessary
we're addressing things

in a different way.

And at the same time,

there's a federal role to play

because not everything that's gonna work

in another state or place
is the right fit for here.

So there's a balance.

- I do agree with how
the federal government

manages public lands.

I know that we have a
lot of people who talk

about how we want to develop
natural resources more,

but I also think that in Idaho especially,

we love our public lands.

Our public lands are a
great source of recreation.

We love the wildlife that
we get to hunt in Idaho,

and I think that there
needs to be a balance

between federal sovereignty
and state sovereignty.

So I think that the way
that the federal lands

are currently managed might
be able to be improved upon,

but I haven't been in those
congressional hearings

or been able to participate in them

to be able to give you
a more thorough answer.

I think right now what
we're doing is good.

I think we could probably
have a higher emphasis

on protecting those natural resources

and making sure that
they're not exploited.

And that's all I have to
say on that topic. (laughs)

- What policies would you
support to lower US debt?

- I think when it comes to US debt,

it's definitely important to
talk about strategic spending.

So I think that we have a lot of places

where we could easily get,

sorry (laughs).

I think we have a lot of places

where we could easily lower our spending

and be able to make sure

that we're prioritizing the right things.

So, for example, a lot of people will say,

"Well healthcare spending
or spending on Medicare

"or spending on food stamps

"is not going to be the right priority,"

but those cuts that we're making

are actually not going to help our deficit

because the money that we're
actually cutting is so small.

So I support reshaping our tax system

so that companies who are
making billions of dollars

don't pay an effective tax rate of zero

at the end of the tax process.

That way we can tax effectively

and then use that money to
be able to support the values

and the public policies
that we value as Americans.

And those programs help to fund education

and help to fund things that
we find valuable as a society.

= the US debt and deficit
is serious and staggering.

It was being brought down dramatically

under the previous administration

due to bipartisan efforts in Congress

as well as sequestration.

That was all turned up on its head

under the current
president's administration

with the passage of $2 trillion tax cuts

for the rich and the
wealthiest and corporations

at the expense of millions
of middle class families.

And it put the debt on our children

and our children's children.

And that's just unfathomable.

It also was deepened by
billions and billions of dollars

that have been paid out by
the US Treasury Department

for farmers and the losses
that they've suffered

due to the president's
trade wars by Twitter.

That is unacceptable.

We need to get our economy back on track.

We're gonna need to
invest more in the economy

to stabilize it and stimulate
it, to keep individuals,

working families, and
small businesses whole.

But when things bounce back,

we're gonna need to roll
back those Trump tax cuts

for the wealthy.

- What role should the
federal government play

in addressing climate change?

- As a native person,
environmental stewardship

is a centerpiece of our culture.

Indigenous communities
have long led the way

in sounding the alarm about the urgent

and impending climate crisis.

I'm glad that the scientific
community and consensus

has caught up with that.

Climate change is real.

It's an urgent crisis that
requires immediate action now

to preserve our planet
for current generations

and not just future.

It's caused by global population growth

as well as industrialization.

We need to have our federal
government pass laws

that implement sustainable
policy-minded approaches

for governments at all levels

to help us put forth plans

to transition to a clean,
renewable energy economy

to pave the way for 21st century jobs

so that we can keep our
air and water clean.

And Idaho's representatives in Congress

should always be leading
the charge on that front.

- The federal government has
the ultimate role to play

in addressing climate change.

We need to get serious about the fact

that we are creating this
problem for the global community.

And it is a global issue.

The reason that the
federal government needs

to take the ultimate responsibility

is because we have to
work as a global coalition

to be able to combat this
very serious problem.

So I don't think that climate change

is a climate and
preservation problem solely.

I think that part of it is
also an economic problem

because we've already seen
our fishing industry impacted

where they have had to figure out new ways

instead of siphoning
water out from the ocean

to figure out a way to filter it

so it's not so acidic

that it's killing off fish populations.

We're seeing a lot of
residual problems rising,

and it's a national security issue too.

And if we don't listen to scientists

and don't try to stop pollution

and try to mitigate this problem,

we're going to see a lot of
fallout in terms of wildfires,

in terms of increased drought,

and in terms of food
production being halted.

And we need to make sure

that we're anticipating those problems

before they actually happen,

and that is a federal government response.

- What are your priorities

when it comes to immigration policy?

- I think with our immigration policy,

we need to remember that we need

to be compassionate as humans.

Immigrants, especially now with everything

that's happening with essential
works and crop production,

we are seeing that
immigrants actually play

a really vital role in not only
feeding the American people

but also assimilating into communities.

I know I read somewhere somebody said

that only skilled
workers should be allowed

in the United States.

And I keep thinking about my
experience as an immigrant,

because I am the kind of
person that was a refugee

and came into this country
under refugee status.

And I have been here for
almost all of my life.

I have Idaho running through my blood,

but it's a misconception
that I haven't done anything

for my community, that
I haven't contributed,

that I haven't worked hard.

I mean, I went to undergrad.

I went to law school.

I'm running for office.

I'm participating fully in trying to solve

some of the problems we face.

And my story is not unique.

We have a lot of other
stories of immigrants

who are maybe not extremely wealthy

when they come into this country,

but they work hard everyday
to add to our communities.

So I think we need to make sure

that we are letting people in

who are going to create that diversity

that we value as Americans

and that we are also making sure to,

I understand border security.

And I understand the fact
that we are a nation,

and we can't let everybody in.

But I think that a lot of
the immigration problems

that we see have been slightly hyped up

by partisan politics.

- There are a lot of
opinions on this issue.

I've lived it from all sides.

My dad is an immigrant from Mexico.

He came here during the 1960s

to work in the farms and fields.

He gained legal status

under President Ronald
Reagan's administration.

I, myself, while in the
Army National Guard,

was deployed to the US-Mexico border

to help protect it.

So I know it up close.

All of these experiences combined

are part of what drive
me to wanna be a part

of working with Congressman Simpson

to revamp our H-2A visa system,

to bring about comprehensive
immigration reform,

to provide pathways to
legal status and citizenship

for undocumented persons,
to protect DREAMers

and TPS holders as well as
stop the shameful separation

of children and families.

That's not in line with our values

and who are as a country.

We've gotta stay true to
our history and heritage.

Unless you're Native American,

your ancestors were newcomers.

We're a nation of immigrants,
and we gotta stay that way.

It's what makes us special,

and we will always be
amazing because of that.

- You now have 60 seconds to
give your closing remarks.

- Thank you, Melissa,
Idaho Public Television,

Idaho Press Club, and all the partners

who helped put this together
during these trying times,

who are making sure that we
can keep people informed.

I'm running for people like my dad,

who lost his health insurance
after being laid off,

and we're better than that as a country.

I am determined to make sure that

that isn't a common occurrence
for too many families

who struggle to make ends meet.

I'm fighting for working families.

I'm ready to hit the ground
running in Washington.

I hope to be able to earn
your vote here in May,

as well as in November.

I'll never forget where I came from,

and I've raised my right hand
to serve this country before,

and I'm ready to do it again.

- At this point, we lost our
connection with Nikolova,

but she was able to
give her closing remarks

after we reconnected.

- I'm not a politician,
but I'm running for office

because I see a lot of
problems in Congress,

and I couldn't live with myself

if I didn't do anything about it.

We need to put partisan politics aside

and start working with each other because,

at the end of the day, regardless
of political affiliation,

we are all Americans,

and we just need to start acting like it.

Our country was built on a dream,

"life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness."

And it's my dream to see us
working together as Americans

to combat the real
problems that face us today

with climate change,
inaccessible healthcare,

a national infrastructure
that needs investment,

ensuring clean air and clean water,

cybersecurity and national
security in a technological age.

I want to see Americans spend more time

building each other up than we
do breaking each other down,

and it starts at the top.

Elect me, and let's start moving forward

with building an informed, accessible,

and productive democracy.

- Thank you for watching.

Remember, the primary election is May 19th

and will be conducted
entirely via mail this year.

You have until 8 p.m.
local time on the 19th

to register to vote and
to request your ballot,

which you can do at idahovotes.gov.

And if you don't have internet access,

you can contact your
county clerk directly.

In order for your vote to count,

your county clerk must
receive your completed ballot

by 8 p.m. local time on June 2nd.

We have one more candidate
Q and A coming up,

Republican candidates for
congressional districts

one and two, Nicholas
Jones and Kevin Rhoades.

We'll have their Q and As at
8:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8th.

We reached out to the campaigns

for both representatives Mike
Simpson and Russ Fulcher,

and they didn't get back to us.

For more information on
our candidate Q and As,

and to watch any you might've
missed, go to idahoptv.org.

(upbeat music)

- [Announcer] "The Idaho
Debates" is organized

by these partners.

Funding provided by the Friends
of Idaho Public Television,

the Idaho Public Television Endowment,

and the Corporation of
Public Broadcasting.

(dramatic music)