U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth’s Republican challenger called her office this week and challenged her to a debate, although he still was a patient in a hospital psychiatric ward.

Khris Bershers, Chenoweth’s press secretary, said Dr. William Levinger called Chenoweth’s Boise congressional office on Monday, and spoke with a staffer. “He said he’d asked Mrs. Chenoweth several times for a debate. He wanted to know when she was going to debate him. He asked repeatedly.”

The staffer referred Levinger to Chenoweth’s campaign office. Jim Gambrell, Chenoweth’s campaign manager, then spoke with Levinger and agreed to consider a proposal for a debate.

“I just kind of put it back into his ballpark to set it up and get with us on the details, and then we would respond to it accordingly,” Gambrell said Friday.

If Chenoweth receives a formal debate proposal from Levinger, Gambrell said, “We’ll look at it.”

Levinger remained hospitalized Friday. Last week, he was taken to St. Alphonsus Hospital by police after he refused to leave a television studio after an interview. While police were questioning him at the studio, he removed most of his clothes. He was arrested for trespassing.

Levinger’s name will remain on the ballot unless he withdraws from the race by Monday’s deadline.

On Friday, his wife, Karen, said the anesthesiologist probably won’t withdraw.

“He does have a high-stress profession, and this whole political process which was new to him was also stressful, and he cared very much about the people who were wanting to speak with him and understand what he had to say,” she said. “And I think he became exhausted and everything sort of snowballed from there.

“He was literally exhausted last week,” she said.

“I am very proud of the intentions that he revealed to me about doing this. And I think that he really deep down to his soul wants to do something good, and wants to do something good for the people in Idaho.”

Levinger, of Nampa, filed his candidacy to challenge Chenoweth moments before the filing deadline. In a subsequent announcement speech, he pledged not to accept campaign contributions over $100, and called for a balanced budget and campaign finance reform. He said he felt he had to run because no one else had filed to challenge Chenoweth in the primary.

, DataTimes