US House Candidates Debate On KELO Friday

The race for South Dakota's lone US House seat is heated to say the least. We've seen multiple ads from both sides of the campaign in the last few weeks.

Friday at 7 p.m. will be the first and only scheduled commercial television debate between Congresswoman Kristi Noem and challenger Matt Varilek on KELOLAND TV.

Ahead of the debate, we asked both candidates about their top two issues are and where they stand on them.

In an email from her campaign manager, Congresswoman Noem says her top two issues for South Dakota are spending and debt and the growth of South Dakota’s economy.

When it comes to spending and debt, Congresswoman Noem says she has already helped change the "how much can we spend" idea in Washington to "where can we save?" She says she will continue the fight to cut wasteful spending and has already voted for more than $6 trillion in spending cuts. Noem also voted for a balanced budget amendment.

Congresswoman Noem says one of her other top issues is growing South Dakota's economy and that President Barack Obama's plan has failed. In order to help South Dakota and all Americans, she says she will fight to keep taxes low, fight for American-made energy, fight to cut red tape and pass a five-year farm bill.

Challenger Matt Varilek believes the top two issues in this campaign are who will stand up for regular, middle-class people, and who has the work ethic and leadership skills to actually get things done.

He says that Washington is set up for the wealthy and big corporations and he wants to tip the scale back in favor of the middle class. He says this can be done by balancing the budget in a better way.

Varilek also says another one of his biggest issues is bringing back a work ethic and leadership style that will break the political gridlock in Washington. He says he will work hard with people on each side of the aisle to do what's best for his constituents.

You can still submit your question for the debate.  Just send us an email.  Then join us on the U.S. House Race page of KELOLAND.com during the debate to weigh in on the candidates' responses through our live blog.  That also begins at 7 p.m. CDT.