Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker announced for the first time on Fox News last week that he plans to debate democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock on October 14 in Savannah, Ga. Turns out, it is the only debate that provides the candidates with the topics in advance.
Walker’s campaign claims they chose to participate in this debate because it would have a live audience and the “format and the moderators are fair and would allow each candidate equal opportunity to share their message.”
But, one of the most glaring differences between the four proposed debates is that the one hosted by Nexstar and its Savannah based NBC affiliate, WSAV, on October 14th gives the candidates the topics before they get on stage.
“Topics will be provided to the campaigns prior to the broadcast, but specific questions will not,” the term sheet for the debate released last week by Georgia Public Broadcasting said.
According to the Daily Beast, it is rare for debates in Georgia to provide the topics ahead of time. Organizers of the three debates Warnock has so far agreed to participate in confirmed to the outlet that they are not providing topics ahead of time.
“In my 30-plus years of doing this, we’ve never given out the topics or have a candidate request it,” Larry Silbermann, general manager of WTOC Savannah said.
The Mercer University Center for Collaborative Journalism and the Atlanta Press Club, the hosts of the other two debates also called the move unusual.
Still, this format would be appealing to Walker who is dogged by several high-profile policy gaffes and statements, such claiming that America’s “good air” will float to China and force China’s “bad air” to come back and replace our “good air.
Walker’s campaign hasn’t responded to WTOC’s Silbermann since he accepted the Nexstar debate last week. Debbie Blankenship, head of the Mercer University Center for Collaborative Journalism, said she has never heard from Walker’s team even though she reached out several times. Lauri Strauss, organizer of the debate held by the Atlanta Press Club, told the Daily Beast that Walker’s campaign has been “quick to respond” to her. She said the campaign reached out to her in late July with questions about format. Strauss responded on Monday night and by Wednesday Walker’s campaign rejected the offer.
The rejection comes after a conservative outlet reported that Strauss donated $173 to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020 and $35 to Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
Warnock campaign manager Quentin Fulks told The Daily Beast that the candidate remains locked in to the three debates he previously agreed to in June.
“Two months ago, Reverend Warnock accepted invitations to three well-established Georgia debates in Atlanta, Savannah, and Macon to be broadcast statewide, after Herschel Walker said he would debate Reverend Warnock anywhere, anytime,” the statement said. “Nothing has changed. Reverend Warnock remains committed to debating Herschel Walker and giving Georgians three opportunities to see the clear choice about who is ready to represent Georgia.”
