With the midterm campaign season about to kick into high gear, questions remain about how debates will play out in Pennsylvania’s races for governor and U.S. Senate.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, won’t participate in debates hosted by legacy media, a spokesman from the campaign confirmed.
Mastriano’s campaign sent a letter on Aug. 16 to the Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, proposing that their campaigns work together to put on a debate.
“Like you, I have received many invitations from media outlets and civic organizations to participate in gubernatorial debates,” Mastriano wrote. “While I believe that debates can offer a valuable service to Pennsylvania voters, that’s only if they are conducted fairly.
“Typically, Republican statewide candidates fall prey to the trap of debates that are effectively a two-against-one matchup, in which the mainstream media who moderate the debates, are unpaid advocates and ideological allies of the Democrat candidates.”
Mastriano said he welcomes a debate, but will only participate if it’s a fair fight.
Mastriano proposes two 90-minute debates in October, with each candidate choosing one site. Each debate would have two moderators, with each candidate choosing one; the moderators would be allowed an equal number of questions asked of each candidate. The topics can be open-ended with no limits, Mastriano stated.
Instead of an exclusive broadcast arrangement with specific media outlets, the debates would be open to media for live broadcasting and streaming. Mastriano proposes that the two campaigns or state parties split the costs of production and venue rentals.
“While I am sure there are other details to be worked out amicably between our campaign teams, my proposal should make it clear that I am eager to debate you on a level playing field,” Mastriano wrote.
“The old model of unfair debates run by the mainstream news media or hosts with a hidden partisan agenda is not something I will entertain. Let’s have fair debates, or none at all.”
Shapiro’s campaign was asked several times in recent weeks by The Epoch Times if he intends to participate in debates. Shapiro’s camp hasn’t answered that question, but it did respond to Mastriano’s letter.
“Doug Mastriano’s unserious proposal is an obvious stunt to avoid any real questions about his extreme agenda and record of conduct by dictating his own rules for debates,” Will Simons, a spokesman for Shapiro’s campaign, told The Epoch Times.
“Mastriano has spent his entire campaign refusing to answer questions from local outlets across Pennsylvania–refusing to leave his echo chamber of extremists on alt-right media.”
He countered that Pennsylvania’s media outlets and moderators ask fair and direct questions to candidates of both parties, and nobody gets to pick their own moderators or set their own terms.
Senate
Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, has agreed to five televised debates across Pennsylvania—hosted by local media affiliates in Pittsburgh, Greater Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia in and Harrisburg.
John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, hasn’t yet made debate plans public. His spokesman, Joe Calvello, recently told The New York Times that Fetterman planned to debate Oz but didn’t commit to a specific number of debates.
Calvello didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
Fetterman returned to the campaign trail this week after suffering a stroke just before the May primary. The stroke left him sometimes reaching for words, he has said in interviews. That could affect how he would perform in a debate.
Ordinarily, once an invitation is accepted by both sides, debate hosts let both parties know the date is set, and then go to work negotiating the terms with candidates, such as the length of the program, and whether they will sit or stand at podiums. These discussions go back and forth, sometimes vigorously, until parties agree.
But with the first debate planned for Sept. 6, about three weeks away, the Oz campaign says it hasn’t heard of any confirmation or discussions.
“There’s usually a pretty robust process to agree to a debate,” Rachel Tripp, a senior communications adviser to Oz, told The Epoch Times. “To be working with the media hosts on the logistics of a debate and have John Fetterman’s campaign be radio silent just neuters the process.
“John Fetterman’s lack of participation is robbing voters of their right to hear their candidates’ answers to the tough questions.
“Debate is a crucial part of the democratic process. Voters deserve to be exposed to the differences and nuances of each candidate’s policies,” Tripp said. “The best way to do that is through multiple debates for different audiences across the Commonwealth. It’s not right for voters to have to go into the voting booth without having heard from the candidates directly.”
