(Atlanta) Ted Budd skipped four Republican primary debates in the race for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. Republican gubernatorial candidates from Ohio, Nevada and Nebraska also declined to oppose their opponents from the debate podium.
Posted at 10:06 a.m.
And on Tuesday, Herschel Walker is expected to miss a second debate against his Republican rivals for a crucial U.S. Senate seat after skipping the first.
As the most competitive phase of the midterm primary season unfolds this week, many candidates for major office – often Republicans – are abandoning the tradition of debating with their rivals before Election Day.
For some gaffe-prone candidates like Mr. Walker, skipping the debate stage lessens the chance of an awkward moment. For others, it is an opportunity to snub a media ecosystem that they find elitist and to fit into the mold of former President Donald Trump, who caused a stir by missing certain debates during the campaign. 2016.
The Republican National Committee is already heading toward a withdrawal from the 2024 presidential debates, though the final decision will likely rest with whoever runs as the party’s nominee.
But some of the Republicans who are still engaged in the process say skipping debates could ultimately leave would-be candidates vulnerable in a general election, unprepared to answer tough questions or engage with rivals in a way that could appeal to voters beyond the party base.
“If you can’t get on stage and debate with your fellow Republicans, how the hell are you going to debate Raphael Warnock in the general election? asked Latham Saddler, one of five Republicans challenging Mr. Walker, referring to the current Democratic senator.
“Usually if you’re hiding, you’re hiding for a reason,” Saddler said in an interview.
Mr Walker holds a considerable lead over his rivals ahead of the May 24 primary. His campaign did not grant an interview to The Associated Press despite repeated requests, including for this article. But after coming under fire from his rivals in Georgia’s first Republican debate in April, including over his absence, Mr Walker told Access radio station WDUN that his opponents were jealous.
“Because right now Herschel is going to win that seat,” he said in an April 20 interview with Newsroom. “They can’t win, so they turn to the old politics, and people are fed up. »
Although several of those who skipped debates were Republicans, some Democrats followed a similar strategy. In Pennsylvania, which holds primary elections on May 17, Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman skipped a debate last month, saying he opted to participate in three more debates because they will have wider reach on television. .
A spokesman for Ted Budd, Jonathan Felts, said that instead of attending the debates, the candidate was focused on completing his tour of North Carolina counties so he could speak directly to voters.
In the case of Mr. Walker, his reluctance goes beyond the debate. He does not publicize his campaign stops widely and limits his appearances mainly to conservative media and sympathetic audiences. Campaign spokeswoman Mallory Blount said by email last week that Mr. Walker had participated in more than 105 interviews.
“The suggestion that Mr. Herschel is not accessible is a lie,” she said. “He interviews and answers questions for thousands of Georgians as he travels across the state each week. »
But when Mr. Walker speaks, awkward moments can ensue.
He mischaracterized the late Congressman John Lewis as a senator and said the suffrage rights activist’s eponymous election bill – the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act – “does not match what John Lewis”.
Mr Walker recently questioned evolution at a religious gathering wondering why apes still existed if humans had evolved from them. And he told a reporter in January that asking him if he would have voted for a bipartisan infrastructure bill was ‘unfair’ because he hadn’t had the ‘privilege’ of being given all the facts about the measure. . The bill was passed in November.
Mr Walker, a former college football star at the University of Georgia, did not graduate from the institution, but said he was – a lie initially repeated by his campaign on a website promoting of his candidacy for the Senate. He repeatedly made false claims of voter fraud on his Twitter account after Mr Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election. In a post, he suggested that people in several states should be given the opportunity to vote again.
His status as a Georgian sports legend, along with Mr Trump’s endorsement, made him the Republican frontrunner as soon as he entered the race in August.
Limiting questions and access can help avoid discussions about his tumultuous past. Officers responding to a call that Mr. Walker was armed and scaring his ex-wife at a home in suburban Dallas, in 2001, later noted that Mr. Walker ‘talked about having a shootout with police according to a police report revealed by the AP in February. In a protective order sought by his then ex-wife in 2005, Mr Walker was accused of repeatedly threatening her life.
Mr Walker opened up about his long struggle with mental illness and acknowledged his violent impulses. His campaign dismissed reports about a shooting and accused the media of highlighting it.
While his absence from the Republican debates is unlikely to hurt Mr Walker in the primary, a strategy similar to the general election – as he would face Mr Warnock, an accomplished orator who is a pastor of one of the churches Georgia’s most important — might be a different story, noted Andra Gillespie, professor of political science at Emory University.
Mr Walker may have to persuade some voters to win what would likely be a close race, which would require him to “play the game” and answer questions, she said.
Asked about WDUN whether he would argue with Mr Warnock, Mr Walker said he was determined to do whatever it takes to win.
“So Reverend Warnock better get ready because I’m getting ready,” he said.
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Associated Press reporter Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.