PITTSBURGH — Gubernatorial debates in Pennsylvania are usually hosted by independent media outlets, moderated by journalists and news anchors who have been covering the campaigns for months.
Republican candidate Doug Mastriano has a new proposal, and says he will only debate Democrat Josh Shapiro “if it’s a fair fight.”
Fairness, Mr. Mastriano said, is a series of two 90-minute debates in October, organized collaboratively by both campaigns. He said GOP candidates typically “fall prey” to unfair debates, moderated by mainstream media members who are “unpaid advocates and ideological allies of the Democrat candidates.”
In a letter to Mr. Shapiro on Tuesday, the state senator pitched the idea of having each campaign pick a location for the individual debates, and giving both campaigns the opportunity to pick moderators, one each for both events. The topics can be “open-ended with no limits,” Mr. Mastriano wrote.
A Shapiro campaign spokesman called Mr. Mastriano’s offer an “unserious” proposal — an “obvious stunt to avoid any real questions about his extreme agenda and record of conduct by dictating his own rules for debates.” Mr. Mastriano is stuck in his own echo chamber, Shapiro spokesman Will Simons said, and continues to refuse to answer questions from local outlets across the state.
It doesn’t look like the two will be agreeing to a debate anytime soon.
Mr. Mastriano said he’s received debate invitations from media outlets and civic organizations, adding that although he believes debates can offer a “valuable service” to voters, that’s only if they’re fair.
“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,” Mr. Mastriano said in his letter. “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.”
Mr. Shapiro’s campaign said there were already good-faith conversations underway about debate times and hosts, but Mr. Mastriano went in this new direction with a series of demands.
Mr. Simons said there’s a long history in Pennsylvania of media outlets and independent moderators conducting the debates and asking candidates fair questions. No one gets to pick their own moderates or set their own terms, he added.
“It’s unfortunate that Doug Mastriano has recklessly decided to blow up good faith debate negotiations with media outlets across the commonwealth,” Mr. Simons said. “If he’s ever ready to step up and finally answer questions about his reckless agenda, we look forward to comparing Josh Shapiro’s long record of bringing people together and delivering results for Pennsylvanians with Mastriano’s record of dangerous extremism.”
Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, said for Mr. Mastriano, the request makes sense; he gets to claim that he wanted to debate, call out the mainstream media — a villain for many conservatives — and if his opponent doesn’t bite, it was Mr. Shapiro’s fault, not his.
“Do I think the proposal — by itself — was one that they expected Shapiro to agree to? Absolutely not,” Mr. Borick said. “It’s certainly a unique type of proposal that bypasses a lot of the checks that are usually part of an agreed-upon debate.”
In the race for U.S. Senate, the debate maneuvering has started, too — but the conflict, at least for now, is based around actual media-run debates.
Republican Mehmet Oz said he has committed to five debates — including KDKA Pittsburgh’s on Sept. 6 and Fox 29 Philadelphia’s at an undetermined date — and has called on Democrat John Fetterman to agree to the debates.
Fetterman campaign strategist Rebecca Katz told NBC News that Mr. Oz’s debate demand is “an obvious and pathetic attempt to change the subject during yet another bad week.” Mr. Fetterman’s campaign wouldn’t say how many debates he will commit to, the outlet reported.
"John is up for debating Oz — but we’re not going to do this on Oz’s terms. A millionaire celebrity like Dr. Oz is probably used to pushing people around and getting his own way, but he’s not going to be able to bully John Fetterman,” Ms. Katz said to NBC News.
-------
