BEND, OR -- The crowd of GOP presidential hopefuls hold their first debate Thursday. During his swing through Central Oregon, Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) spoke with KBND about the large number of Republican candidates, and if Donald Trump is good for the party.
Joking that too many mothers told their children they could grow up to be president, Walden says the crowded GOP presidential field is what this country is about. “Actually it’s democracy in action. You know, that’s the great thing about America, anybody can run for president. You have seventeen sort of known candidates and a bunch that are unknown. It’ll sort out. And people are making their cases. First debate is Thursday night on the Republican side. I think what it really speaks to is people are fed up with what’s going on in Washington, or not going on. And I think that’s going to play out in this election cycle.”
The leader in the GOP polls is the outspoken and brash Donald Trump. Walden says, “He has certainly found his voice and fired up a group of people that maybe weren’t fired up before. Doesn’t mean I agree with everything he says, mind you, or how he says it. What he is, is kind of a barometer of the intensity of this electorate going into this election cycle.”
KBND News will air the FOX News debate with the top 10 GOP candidates, beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday. Candidates for this debate are: Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and John Kasich.
