Editorial: Show must go on, even without two governor candidates

Talk about it

It won’t be the debate that we’ve talked about so much these past few months, but we expect it still to be a great day of politics at the Corn Palace.

The Daily Republic-Corn Palace Festival Debate will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Corn Palace.

Although we hoped to bring you gubernatorial candidates Dennis Daugaard and Scott Heidepriem, the governor’s debate was canceled late Wednesday afternoon due to unfortunate circumstances. Daugaard’s good friend, Steven Hainje, died earlier in the week of a heart attack and the funeral is scheduled for Saturday morning, prompting Daugaard to regretfully pull out of the debate.

Our sympathies go out to Daugaard and the family and friends of Hainje. Their sad news certainly supersedes Saturday’s debate.

Even without the Daugaard-Heidepriem matchup, however, we expect a great day at the Corn Palace.

At 11 a.m., Don Rose of Citizens for Individual Freedom will debate Jennifer Stalley of the American Cancer Society about Referred Law 12, a proposal to ban smoking in places such as restaurants and bars. This is a hot issue in South Dakota, one that could bring about great change in the state.

At 11:30 a.m., secretary of state candidates Jason Gant and Ben Nesselhuf will meet for a 30-minute debate about their race. The secretary of state isn’t necessarily an office that prompts great controversy, but both Nesselhuf and Gant are passionate about their candidacies and jumped at the chance to speak before a crowd Saturday in Mitchell.

At noon, U.S. House incumbent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, a Democrat, will debate Republican challenger Kristi Noem. This race is getting national coverage and the interest will only grow as November’s election nears.

We are disappointed the governor’s race could not be debated at the Corn Palace Saturday. Greatly disappointed.

But we commend Daugaard for making a personal call to The Daily Republic to express his regrets. We also commend the Heidepriem camp for the understanding it has shown in these days leading up to what was expected to be a classic, yet dignified, confrontation.

But the show must go on, and we invite all to come see this free political showcase in South Dakota’s historic, grand Corn Palace.

Tags: corn palace festival debate, opinion, editorial