Tillis challenges Democratic rivals to five debates. ‘Bring it on,’ one says.
Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis challenged the Democratic primary winner to a series of debates Wednesday — and at least one Democrat accepted.
“Bring it on, Thom,” Cal Cunningham replied in a tweet.
Cunningham is one of five Democrats running for the seat in the March 3 primary. He held a double-digit lead in a recent survey by Public Policy Polling.
Backed by the national Democratic Party, he has raised $3.1 million since entering the race last summer, far more than any of his primary rivals.
In a statement, the Tillis campaign said Spectrum News has agreed to broadcast debates in April, May and June.
“Given the importance of this race when it comes to the future of our state and nation, it is critical that North Carolinians have numerous opportunities to hear directly from the candidates about where they stand on the issues that matter to them,” Tillis said in a statement.
Tillis faces three relatively unknown Republican candidates including Sharon Hudson of Huntersville. Tillis spokesman Andrew Romeo said Tillis “will only be debating notable challengers, meaning either the Democratic nominee or the two Democratic finalists in any runoff.”
In a tweet, Democrat Atul Goel of Raleigh said he’d accept Tillis’ challenge. Democratic candidates Erica Smith, a state senator, and Mecklenburg County Commissioner Trevor Fuller could not be reached. Democrat Steve Swenson of Harnett County is also running.
They could meet next Tuesday at a Charlotte forum sponsored by the Black Political Caucus. Cunningham said he plans to attend. A Caucus official said other candidates have confirmed as well. It would apparently be the first forum of the campaign.
If the Democratic primary winner goes along, five debates would apparently be a recent record for a statewide race in North Carolina.
“We’ll work out details but conceptually I have no problem with it at all,” Cunningham told the Observer.
In 2010, he was the one challenging his opponent to more debates. Cunningham faced Elaine Marshall in the 2010 Senate primary runoff.
“I ask you today to join my effort to reach out to civic, news and Democratic organizations to schedule debates and forums around North Carolina,” he wrote Marshall, according to Politico. They eventually held two debates.
In an interview, Cunningham also talked about other issues:
▪ Iran. Cunningham called Iranian Gen. Qassim Sulemaini, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike, “a bad actor” and “a terrorist” and said “there’s justice in him being killed.”
“When we do pull the trigger it needs to be in pursuit of our national security and our strategic goals . . . it needs to make America safer and not less safe. And that’s the question that I’m asking. . . . Are we safer because we did this. . . . I don’t believe that we are. We have clearly destabilized an already tumultuous Middle East.
“We have had to lay down our efforts against ISIS. Iraq is now calling for us to be removed from their country, again . . . We are closer to a regional conflict today than before we pulled that trigger.”
▪ Immigration. Tillis has attacked what he calls the “reckless sanctuary policies” of some sheriffs, including those in Mecklenburg and Wake counties. Federal immigration officials also have criticized decisions by sheriffs not to cooperate with ICE.
Tillis introduced legislation to compel local law enforcement officials to comply with federal detainer requests or face possible civil action by victims and the loss of federal grants.
Cunningham, who said he favors comprehensive immigration reform, deferred to local law enforcement on their policies.
“I’d say that I generally trust them to make difficult judgment calls and to keep their communities safe,” he said. “And if the public feels like our local law enforcement community isn’t doing a good job . . the remedy is at the ballot box in each of those local communities.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Tillis challenges Democratic rivals to five debates. ‘Bring it on,’ one says.."
