3 debates are set in NC’s key US Senate race. Tillis says Cunningham should do 2 more
Updated Aug. 21, 2020, with the latest developments.
The top two candidates for U.S. Senate in North Carolina have set dates for three debates this fall.
But Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and his campaign are still pushing for more, saying Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham broke his promise to participate in five debates earlier this year.
Tillis is not alone in wanting more opportunities to be on-stage with their Democratic opponents. Several Republican incumbents are pushing for more debates or issuing challenges in their races across the country, including Maine, Iowa, Kentucky and Arizona.
Tillis and Cunningham will debate on Sept. 14 (WRAL), Sept. 22 (Nexstar) and Oct. 1 (Spectrum), both campaigns confirmed.
“Cal is eager to hold Senator Tillis accountable for his record (of) caving to corporate special interests, instead of standing up for North Carolinians,” Cunningham campaign manager Devan Barber said in an emailed statement in July.
The Cunningham campaign said in June that it would participate in three debates with WRAL, Nexstar and Spectrum. It has not changed that stance. The Tillis campaign wants two additional debates for five total, the same number it proposed in January.
“Cal Cunningham is an empty suit who is breaking his pledge to debate Senator Tillis five times, again demonstrating that he is a rubber-stamp for Chuck Schumer’s radical liberal agenda,” Tillis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said in a statement this week.
The Senate race is considered a toss-up and one of the key races in determining who will control the chamber next year. Cunningham has led in 12 of the last 13 polls released in the state with the other tied.
The Tillis campaign said it accepted debate offers from CNN and with the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters.
In January — weeks before the March primaries — Tillis issued a five-debate challenge to the winner of the Democratic primary.
“Bring it on, Thom,” Cunningham, who went onto win the primary, replied on Twitter.
Tillis wrote in an opinion piece this week for the Smoky Mountain News that he was “disappointed” that Cunningham declined an invitation to participate in a debate with an Asheville television station in late July.
“Why not give voters as many chances as possible to see us discuss the issues face-to-face? Like any politician who is afraid to debate, Cunningham doesn’t want to defend his failed record and agenda,” Tillis wrote.
Cunningham said earlier in July that voters will base their voting decision on a number of factors, not just debates.
“It’s one of a whole lot of ways, whole lot of ways, that the electorate will evaluate my candidacy and Thom Tillis’ candidacy and his time in office and the things that I’ve done,” Cunningham said. “It’s important, but it’s only one of a whole lot of different ways people are evaluating us.”
Mail-in absentee ballots will be sent to voters who have requested them starting Sept. 4. Election Day is Nov. 3. Libertarian Shannon Bray and Constitution Party candidate Kevin Hayes will also be on the ballot.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 6:16 PM.
