Независимый кандидат Тодд Ахиллис обсудил инфляцию и реформу Конгресса на ярмарке в Твин-Фоллс

FILER, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Twin Falls County Fair wrapped up as independent U.S. Senate candidate Todd Achilles campaigned there, discussing rising costs, health care and congressional reform with voters in the Magic Valley. Achilles said he enjoys visiting the sheep barn at fairs because he showed sheep as a kid. “You gotta do the caramel apples... but I showed sheep when I was a kid so I always love hitting the sheep barn and talking to the kids there,” Achilles said. Rising costs Achilles said higher costs at the pump and at the grocery store are impacting Idahoans. He said the increases are driven by multiple factors, including the wars in Iran and Ukraine. Achilles said the war in Iran “was not well planned” and has been “poorly executed,” which he said has affected fuel prices. He said the war between Ukraine and Russia is also affecting fuel prices. He said he passed a truck stop in Bliss where diesel was $6.20 a gallon. Achilles served on active duty as a tank commander and deployed twice to the Persian Gulf. “I think one of the biggest problems is my opponent Jim Risch,” Achilles said. “He’s part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He’s chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He’s got an obligation to be asking the hard questions of the White House. He didn’t do any of that. We’re seeing the impacts of that just in terms of this explosion of inflation and high costs. Families just can’t get by in the state anymore and that’s wrong.” Congress and the national debt Achilles, a veteran and former state legislator, is advocating for age and term limits for members of Congress. He said he has held more than 250 events in all 44 Idaho counties. Achilles said he wants to get money out of elections and end gerrymandering, replacing it with proportional representation. He said the national debt is a top concern, noting it was $10 trillion when Risch entered the Senate and is now $40 trillion after 18 years. Health care and affordability Achilles said he met a couple in Preston who could not afford health insurance. He said the woman needed surgery, and the cheapest place for them to get it was Mexico. “We need to get this health care system fixed,” Achilles said. “And then we need to fix affordability because it’s just too darn hard to get a house in Idaho, particularly for younger Idahoans. And that’s bad policy from the past that we can fix now.” Wildfires and community recovery Achilles said the federal government needs to ensure firefighters have the equipment and budget to fight wildfires in southern Idaho, along with coordination between federal firefighters and local landowners. He said there were issues with that this year. Regarding a shooting at the Twin Falls In-N-Out that affected the community, Achilles said people should support those affected as they recover. “These things are hard,” Achilles said. “We pray that these don’t happen in the future. And I think we’ve just got to pick ourselves up and move on and give the support to the people that got caught up in the shooting.” Running as an independent Achilles said the two-party system is the problem in Congress. “They’re both too big,” Achilles said. “They got too much money, too much control over the representatives. And that’s why Congress isn’t working. So ultimately, I’m a veteran and I come from that military tradition of just nonpartisan service, of working together with whoever you got and solving hard problems. And I think we just need more of that in Congress.” Achilles said he has been a registered Republican in Idaho and served in the state legislature as a Democrat. He said roughly two-thirds of Idahoans identify as independent or as Republicans who lean independent. Achilles plans to continue campaigning across the state leading up to November.