Michael Baumgartner

Foreign policy took center stage in The Spokesman-Review’s debate between Republican Congressman Michael Baumgartner and Democrat Carmela Conroy on Wednesday.

Both candidates have a background in international relations and foreign affairs. Conroy is a retired diplomat across the globe, and Baumgartner worked with American diplomats in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Conroy was squarely defeated in 2024 by Baumgartner , who won with just over 60% of the vote in the general election. Conroy immediately announced her comeback upon losing to the Republican and has been running against him for much of the past two years.

At the event co-sponsored by KSPS, Baumgartner said President Donald Trump should continue the conflict in Iran for “as long as it takes.” Though the Trump administration initially projected the military operation to take weeks, the conflict has dragged on for more than six months.

Baumgartner said the conflict should continue for as long as it is possible for Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

“How long does it go? Well, how long does it take to make sure Jihadists that want to take us over and kill us don’t get a nuclear weapon? It’s a top-tier thing. As long as it takes,” he said.

Asked if the conflict in Iran was a war, Baumgartner said in many ways the United States has been at war with the Islamic Republic since it came to power in the 1970s.

“Iran has a ‘jihadi mindset.’ Their view is that their version of Shia Islam is going to sweep across not just the Middle East but across the entire globe,” he said.

The question of whether the conflict meets the definition of a war is less important than keeping Iran from getting nuclear weapons, he said.

“For them to have a nuclear weapon would be like Osama bin Laden or Hitler having a nuclear weapon. That’s extremely dangerous,” Baumgartner said.

Conroy said the conflict was unambiguously a war and costing billions of taxpayer dollars.

“If it walks like a duck, if it talks like a duck, it’s a duck. We are at war, ladies and gentlemen, whether we like it or not,” she said.

In her previous campaign in 2024, Conroy argued against recognizing a Palestinian state. Two years later, she supports such recognition from the United States and said aid to Israel should be halted. The change in position was caused by changing “facts on the ground,” she said.

When the conflict first broke out in 2023, she feared that American aid to Israel was needed to prevent a broader conflict in the Middle East. As the conflict continued, she believes United States’ support has become a “shield” allowing Israel to enact “ethnic cleansing and war crimes.”

Conroy refused to call Israeli actions in the region a “genocide,” citing her experience as a diplomat.

“If I go into a room as a member of a national government and use the word ‘genocide,’ that means that I am laying the verbal groundwork for an invasion, a review and change, war crimes trials, and executions. That is the import of that specific word, and that’s why I personally avoid using it,” she said.

Despite her reluctance, Conroy “understands” why activists may want to use the term.

Baumgartner is a strong supporter of the Israeli state and the American aid supporting it because both are in “American interest” in the region. At the debate, he called out “very vile” antisemitism that has proliferated on both sides of the aisle since the conflict broke out.

“If you’re against U.S. involvement in Israel, advocate for that. You know, that’s your right to do that. I would say it’s the U.S.’ interest to do so. But if you’re trafficking in conspiracy theories like Tucker Carlson or some of the vile stuff on the left from Hasan Piker and these people that promote Hamas and say America deserves 9/11, you should be ashamed, and we’re not going to stand for it,” he said.

As the conflict in Iran has increased gas prices, Baumgartner argued Republicans in Congress have passed cost-saving measures for the American people.

“This Congress has done a lot to try to make life more affordable, particularly for working families. We passed legislation on no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime, no taxes on American-made cars,” he said.

Conroy argued that the president’s “trade chaos” has caused the affordability issues in the country.

“Stopping these tariffs would boost incomes because we would regain the markets we’ve lost in all this chaos of the past two years,” she said.

Baumgartner argued that while he was generally opposed to tariffs, a revitalization of American manufacturing was needed to prevent the worldwide economic dominance of China.

“We are trying to make sure we have the necessary critical industries and industrial base to make sure that if we ever get into a conflict with China, which we certainly don’t want, but you know the old saying: if you want prepare for if you want peace, prepare for war. I certainly don’t want us in war with China, but if we have to prepare for that, we need to protect critical industries,” he said.