GOP Hosts Debate for Legislature Candidates on Tuesday

The local GOP leaders will ask candidates in five contested legislative races about issues in the upcoming General Session in 2015 at a debate Tuesday, according to the head of the Natrona County Republican Women.

This number of contested races is unusual, Bonnie Foster said Monday.

"You have one or you have two, but we have five," Foster said. "Five for a primary is quite a bit. I can't remember when we've had this many."

The debate begins at the Parkway Plaza 7 p.m. Tuesday, with 20 minutes reserved for each pair of candidates, she said.

• House District 37 incumbent Steve Harshman is being challenged by Greg Flesvig.
• HD35 incumbent Kendall Kroeker is being challenged by Ed Opella.
• Senate District 37 incumbent Bill Landen is being challenged by Kara Linn.
• SD29 incumbent Drew Perkins is being challenged by Bob Ide.
• HD57 incumbent Tom Lockhart is being challenged by Chuck Gray.

Former House Speaker Roy Cohee will moderate the debate, Foster said.

Candidates will have two minutes for introductions and 90 seconds for closing statements, she said. Five questions are planned for each pair, with a possible sixth if time permits.

"We actually are going to have a Game and Fish question," Foster said. "Education will be the Common Core question. We're going to have a health care (question) to do with Medicaid. We're going to have a gun question. We're going to have actually a water question. water issues are big and the Legislature is going to have to deal with those as well."

The audience will have the opportunity to participate, too, she said.

"We will have paper and pen, and a basket available for attendees to put questions into a for the moderator to draw, provided there's time," Foster said.

But be nice, she added.

"No personal attack questions will be permitted," Foster said. "They'll be put in File 13 quickly."