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Five of the candidates for the Idaho Republican US Senate race debated at Northwest Nazarene University Wednesday night.

NAMPA - Five Republican candidates running for retiring U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's seat expressed skepticism of the federal government Wednesday and said in a taped television debate that Idaho should be run by Idahoans.

Watch excerpts of the debate

When it comes to issues of education, public lands and energy, the five GOP members participating in the forum said the states can deal with issues better than the nation as a whole.

Most of the candidates said President Bush's strategy in Iraq needs changing. And all of them said the private sector, and not the federal government, is the answer to the country's health care crisis.

The debate was conducted at Northwest Nazarene University's Brandt Center and sponsored by KTVB-TV, the Idaho Press-Tribune and other statewide partners.

Three other Republican Senate candidates, Fred Adams, Brian Hefner and Hal James Styles, did not participate in the debate because they did not meet KTVB's criteria, which relied on factors such as independent polling data, campaign financing and votes received in prior elections.

All five candidates criticized the idea of a nationwide gas tax holiday, saying the idea is strictly a political move. And most said they did not like the income tax stimulus package approved by Congress and meant to jump-start the economy.

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Dick Phenneger, Coeur d'Alene

The way to stimulate the nation's sagging economy would be to make permanent the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch said. Dick Phenneger of Coeur d'Alene said people would just spend their stimulus checks on products made in China.

"You just can't pull money out of the air and give it away and hope it's going to fuel stuff," said Neal Thompson of McCall.

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Bill Hunter, Rexburg

Only Bill Hunter of Rexburg said he supported the stimulus plan.

"We need to keep our economy going, and that was the intent of this package," Hunter said. Scott Syme of Wilder, an Iraq war veteran, said the cost of the war is bringing down the nation's economy.

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Scott Syme, Wilder

"You've got bombs or butter," Syme said in response to a question about rising food costs. "When you're spending so much money on the war in Iraq, you don't have the money to spend on the people at home." But other candidates blamed the federal government's subsidy of ethanol for higher food prices.

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Jim Risch, Boise

Risch said he would not support a single-payer, federal government-run health care system. "I am very troubled by proposals I hear at the federal level that want to throw out the free market system," Risch said. He said the federal government would "make a mess" of the health care system.

Thompson agreed.

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Neal Thompson, McCall

"We have to keep the private system going," Thompson said. "You let the federal government get in there and they will botch it up."

Risch said he was outraged by high gas prices. Most of the other candidates, including Phenneger, said Congress has to let the country access the oil it already has to bring down gas prices.

"Why we are where we are today is a direct result of paralysis in Washington," Phenneger said.

The debate will be broadcast in upcoming days on KTVB, Channel 7 in Boise, the 24/7 NewsChannel (Cable One 28 in the Treasure Valley), KPVI Pocatello, KREM covering North Idaho, KTFT covering the Magic and Wood River Valleys, and on various cable systems statewide.

The debate has also been provided to Idaho Public Television to run on its network of stations and online.

Check VoteForIdaho.com for the complete schedule.

Inclusion Criteria

Belo Corp. and the KTVB News Group set minimum standards for inclusion in the debate.

To qualify, candidates could produce independent polling data that showed a threshold of 10% support.

Alternatively, a candidate could show the ability to finance an active campaign as demonstrated by a minimum of $10,000 in receipts to the candidate's campaign office. As a third measure, the candidate received ten percent or more of the vote in prior elections for the same or comparable office.