The studio audience watches the Mower County Sheriff's debate, just one of many debates taking place in the past few weeks as elections draw close. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

By AMANDA LILLIE and JASON SCHOONOVER

How much of a stake will campaign efforts like debates and door knocking play when voters go to the polls?

In the weeks leading up to the election, the public has had many opportunities to delve into politics by attending or watching debates and meeting with candidates.

However, no one is sure how much weight debates and similar methods carry in an election.

Republican Jennifer Gumbel, candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives in District 27B, said she is concerned that voters still don’t feel like they know the candidates even after watching or listening to a debate. Gumbel said door knocking has been her main campaign tactic.

“Door knocking is the biggest one so you get a chance to talk to people,” Gumbel said. “In a forum, it’s very sanitized. You don’t get very deep.”

Debates present a snapshot of the candidates, but Commissioner David Hillier said it doesn’t necessarily provide an entire picture of a candidate.

Hillier, who is seeking re-election in District 3, said debates don’t always allow for the voter to get a complete view of a candidate.

“Often times I think the response time … is really too short,” Hillier said.

If he could change anything about debates, Hillier said be sure to allow for ample times for candidates to present on an issue and have rebuttals.

Gumbel said she wants candidate forums to be more public and more head-to-head.

“I would like to have old fashioned debates, where the candidates are interacting directly,” she said.

Tried and true

Mayoral challenger Marian Clennon said door knocking has given her a chance to get to know the voters and vice versa.

“They really do appreciate somebody taking the time and coming to their doorstep,” she said. “The fact that you’re willing to work hard enough to just see them and just say hi — that’s huge.”

While debates don’t reach all the voters, Hillier described door knocking as a “tride and true” tactic, especially in a county commissioner and city council race.

“I think that’s just very important to get out and visit with a percentage of the voters,” Hillier said.

Democratic Sen. Dan Sparks, who is seeking re-election in District 27, said one-on-one contact with voters is important because voters look for someone they can trust in the election.

“I think people just look for people that they respect — that they can trust,” he said. “When you go door to door, everyone has a different issue that rises to a different level. But overall, people just want to make sure that the person the entrust to go to St. Paul will do their very best to represent them.”

Charles Mills, deputy chairman of the Mower County Republicans, said candidates should put a package together that includes door knocking, mailings and attending debates.

“It takes 17 contacts with the voter to make an impact, which scares me,” Mills said. “Trying to raise the funds to do that is very difficult. It’s a shame, and I don’t like it but money is the primary engine of elections.”

Reach

Mayor Tom Stiehm, who is up for re-election this year, said he thinks debates can swing voters but he’s not sure by how much.

“After one or two debates everything kind of gets ironed out, at least locally,” Stiehm said. “If people were to see (debates) I think they’d have an effect. I just question how many people actually see them.”

One challenge with debates is reaching a large number of voters. Typically, Hillier said a room of 40 to 50 people is seen as a strong turnout to a debate, even though it is only a small percentage of the voters.

“As a candidate, we would like to have a room crowded with people,” Hillier said.

Necessary information

While voters are often tired of attack ads and election tactics by November, KSMQ President and CEO Marianne Potter noted that doesn’t mean debates aren’t necessary and important.

“We aren’t doing our job as being a community partner and a public television station unless we are offering these opportunities for people to get that information,” Potter said.

Potter noted KSMQ is always looking for new and creative ways to provide the information. KSMQ also puts debates on their website, along with airing them on television.

In an election, controversy can draw a crowd, as Potter said many people are often drawn to debates in a race that is out of the norm.

One such race this election has been the Mower County Sheriff’s race. At the LWV debate Thursday, most of the seats in the room filled for a debate between incumbent Terese Amazi and challenger Sgt. Jeff Ellis.

Ellis has accused Amazi of having poor communication within the department, and Ellis has made controversial remarks about an policy focusing on illegal immigration. An excessive force lawsuit was filed again Ellis on Wednesday.

While such a race may attract more public interest, Potter noted it doesn’t make other races less important.

“These are people that we’re electing to represent us,” Potter said. “Obviously there are important consequences that are going to happen to us.”

“I think they’re all equally important,” she added.

Challenges

Clennon, mayoral candidate, said debates and candidate forums should be held sooner in the election season.

Since many debates take place in the two weeks before election day, some absentee voters don’t have a chance to be swayed by debates, Clennon said.

“We really need to have these debates, even for the local elections, a month ago,” Clennon said. “People were just begging to be informed on what we were all about.”

While many of the debates are televised, Hillier noted many of them are only available to people with cable. This excludes people with satellite dishes, and people who live in the out county, he said.

Kristine Allas, who helps organize the League of Women Voters debates, said rebroadcasting debates is an important function to reach more people.

One challenge with a debate is arranging the event with candidates. That proved true Thursday night when county recorded candidate Brad McBeain didn’t show up for a debate with Chief Deputy Recorder Jill Cordes.

Another challenge is age. Allas said the majority of the people who attend LWV debates are people of working age, and they have a difficult time attracting younger and older viewers.

“I would like to see more young people, middle aged and older,” she said. “I’d like to see all different ages.”

Potter noted KSMQ is always looking for new and creative ways to provide the information. KSMQ also puts debates on their website, along with airing them on television.

In an election, controversy can draw a crowd, as Potter said many people are often drawn to debates in a race that is out of the norm.

One such race this election has been the Mower County Sheriff’s race. At the LWV debate Thursday, most of the seats in the room filled for a debate between incumbent Terese Amazi and challenger Sgt. Jeff Ellis.

Ellis has accused Amazi of having poor communication within the department, and Ellis has made controversial remarks about an policy focusing on illegal immigration. An excessive force lawsuit was filed again Ellis on Wednesday.

While such a race may attract more public interest, Potter noted it doesn’t make other races less important.

“These are people that we’re electing to represent us,” Potter said. “Obviously there are important consequences that are going to happen to us.”

“I think they’re all equally important,” she added.