Ethan Berkowitz, running against Don Young for Alaska’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, had a clear message for the incumbent at Wednesday’s debate in Kenai — “Don, I’m not staying home, I’m going to the House, you’re going home.”

Rep. Don Young and his Democratic challenger Ethan Berkowitz debated live at Wendy Williamson Auditorium on the campus of UAA as they spar for Alaska’s lone House seat.

Ethan Berkowitz did not own the home field advantage for Thursday’s candidate debate with Congressman Don Young. The forum was sponsored by Alaska’s leading resource development advocacy groups, filled with strong supporters of Rep. Young. But as the debate went on, Berkowitz began to get better marks.

With just twenty days until the election, candidates for Alaska’s national seats are in full battle mode. On Thursday they verbally sparred for votes at a natural resources forum.

“If you want to be persuasive, you cannot just confront people who you disagree with, you cannot bully and intimidate them into agreeing with you,” Berkowitz said in a debate with Young. “You need to find common ground, you need to find consensus.”

Alaskans who want to understand the choice awaiting them for Congress in November should take a close look at the Wall Street bailout/rescue plan. Democrat Ethan Berkowitz, sided with Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens. Berkowitz said he would have been “a reluctant supporter” of the final rescue package. He realized that Alaskans would suffer from leaving the crisis unresolved. Alaskans’ investments and pensions and businesses would be at risk. He promised more oversight of Wall Street.

Candidates vying for Alaska’s congressional offices answered questions Tuesday at a forum sponsored by the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce. Here’s what the candidates had to say.

The four major candidates for Congressional seats discussed a wide range of issues last night at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Colleen Redman attended to better understand all the candidates, but her votes were already secure with Mark Begich, a Democrat and the mayor of Anchorage, who is running for the Senate seat contested this year, and Ethan Berkowitz, a Democrat seeking the state House of Representatives job, she said. “Begich and Ethan Berkowitz are for quality preschool, which I think is a key issue for our entire country,” she pointed out.

At Monday’s House candidates debate Democrats Ethan Berkowitz and Diane Benson were asked if they’d smoked pot (affirmative in both cases), while Republicans Don Young, Sean Parnell, and Gabrielle LeDoux were asked what sport they’d participate in if they were Olympic athletes.