Congressional Debate at Northwest

On October 8, Northwest High School hosted a Congressional Debate with Lannon Baccam and Zach Nunn on KCCI Des Moines live television, which selected students got to view. These students got the opportunity to immerse themselves in the political dynamic. The event provided students with valuable insights into the electoral process and showed the importance of researching candidates before making informed decisions at the ballot box. 

In today’s political landscape, understanding candidates and their positions is more crucial than ever. Research allows voters, especially those who are new to the process, to make educated choices rather than looking at TV attack ads and political signs. For the AP Government students, the debate was a valuable opportunity that helped them apply what they had learned in the classroom to real situations. 

Students learned about the process behind hosting a Congressional Debate. Students learned about the importance of fact-checking during the debate and even got a peak into what it looks like to fact-check such an important event. Students went into backrooms, seeing KCCI employees set up lights, cameras, and teleprompters, all set for the debate on live television. 

The debate featured candidates Lannon Baccam and Zach Nunn from the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively. As candidates took the stage, students observed the intensity of the discussions and the different styles of communication among each candidate. Each candidate presented their visions for the future and addressed pressing community issues. Some key topics included healthcare, education reform, climate change and economic development. The live stream was recorded and can be watched on KCCI’s website. 

After the debate ended, students got the opportunity to ask the candidates questions one-on-one. Each student asked a variety of questions to each candidate, including topics on reproductive health/general healthcare, economic pressure, and immigration. 

When asked about abortion, Zach Nunn stated, “[t]he Dobbs case gave this case back to the states in a really meaningful way. Let’s let Iowans have a voice in this. But here is where I stand, and I think this is important: I am pro-life. I think that’s important. But we also believe strongly in exceptions, and we should expand this conversation on women’s health to IVF as an important tool to make sure families can get started, and it is expensive. So let’s help families with that initial cost and let’s also say to make sure contraception is available for women throughout their life.” 

The topic of abortion was brought up a lot, and each candidate tried to deliberate as straightforward as possible on their vote and ideas. 

While talking to Lannon Baccam, the question of rising cancer rates within Iowa was raised. Baccam stated, “It is important to make sure there are ways to have a much cleaner environment, and for people who want to pick an industry against our environment. I think we can have both. I think there’s an opportunity here to have the ability to incentivize [beneficial] changes in our environment. That means actually deploying practices like conservation programs. In this administration, there are 19.5 billion dollars in conservation programs in the USDA, in five different conservation programs. That only satisfies two-thirds of the demand. The reality is there is so many more people who would want to get into the conservation game if they could get the funding for it. So we should be putting more money into those programs because that’s the stuff that’s actually going to clean up our environment. I think if we can do that, we could get cleaner water, and at the end of the day, we have healthier communities of people.” 

Healthcare was a topic mentioned a lot in the debate, which made it fitting to ask additional questions about each candidate’s views on how to help those who need it. 

 A common theme addressed by the students was how they came into the debate with preconceptions about each candidate. Zaida Wetzel, a Northwest student selected to watch the debate, stated, “I thought it was super interesting. I was expecting to side with one candidate, but I saw some other points of view that I respected in the other candidate, which is surprising.” 

This was a common idea the students discussed after the debate ended. Many students came in with a preconceived notion about specific candidates but, after hearing the debate, developed a more nuanced perspective on the candidate, challenging their initial preconceptions. 

Attending the Congressional Debate emphasized the importance of civic engagement among the students selected. Zaida Wetzel stated, “I think it’s important [to participate like this] because we are the future of this country, and learning about these things before we vote and being aware of the things that are happening [in our country] that are going to affect our future is super important.”