"Bruce Whalen is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe from Pine Ridge, S.D. He is married with three children. Whalen is a graduate of Oglala Lakota College with a bachelor's degree in human services. Whalen served in the Army National Guard, where he worked as a combat systems operator, field artillery surveyor and combat signaler. Whalen worked as a drug and alcohol counselor for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and he has been active with the Republican Party for the last few years

Q: You have tried to debate Ms. Herseth outside of the studio while on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation this summer and she refused. Why do you think she refused and do you think it hurts the voters?

A: I think she's afraid that people will find out who she is. We had a perfect opportunity to set history on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation by having a congressional debate that would have only taken 10 or 15 minutes. These debates that are coming up are called by South Dakotans. She says that she has scheduling conflicts. It's not a scheduling conflict, it's a fear process for her.

Q: You are a very confident person in regard to this campaign. Despite the large margin in the polls, you still have a hill to climb if you are to win this election.

A: We started this campaign on April 5 and we knew that the problem I would have is name recognition. We are going to have that problem all the way up to Nov. 7. The thesis question is how do we knock that down? I do feel confident because God puts leaders in office."

Get the Story:
House Q&A: Whalen urges party loyalty (VolaneteOnline 10/25)

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Relevant Links:
Bruce Whalen for Congress - http://www.brucewhalen.org
Stephanie Herseth for Congress - http://www.hersethforcongress.org
South Dakota Republican Party - http://www.southdakotagop.com

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