First of four October debates between Idaho general election candidates airs tonight

Four debates for state and federal elected offices will take place between Monday evening and the end of October will air on Idaho Public Television. Debates will be held for the positions of lieutenant governor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction and U.S. Senate.

Incumbent Gov. Brad Little and U.S. Reps. Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson, both R-Idaho, declined to participate in the debates in September, according to previous reporting from the Idaho Capital Sun. Little and Simpson also refused to debate their opponents during the primary election. Debates for secretary of state, treasurer and controller were also canceled because several candidates did not respond to Idaho Debates producers, host and producer Melissa Davlin told the Sun in September.

The general election will take place on Nov. 8.

According to Idaho Public Television, the debate schedule is:

• Attorney general: 8 p.m. Monday, between Republican Raúl Labrador and Democrat Tom Arkoosh
• U.S. Senate: 8 p.m. Tuesday, between Republican Sen. Mike Crapo, Democrat David Roth and Independent Scott “Oh” Cleveland
• Superintendent of public instruction: 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, between Republican Debbie Critchfield and Democrat Terry Gilbert
• Lieutenant governor: 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, between Republican Rep. Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, and Democrat Terri Pickens Manweiler

Candidates will field questions from selected local reporters, and most of the debates will be aired live on Idaho Public Television. The debates will also be streamed on the station’s YouTube channel, and recorded versions will be available after they air.

Idaho Debates producers will also rebroadcast the debates with Spanish-language captioning for the first time, and the Spanish versions will also be available online.