Senate Candidate John Hoeven Ducks Debates With Opponent
A couple of days ago I posted about the latest polls showing Governor John Hoeven creaming challenger Tracy Potter by 47 points in the race to replace Senator Byron Dorgan. In that post, I said that I wish Hoeven were facing a tougher opponent. With Hoeven in cruise control, he really has no impetus to define the sort of Senator he’ll be for North Dakota.
I was right. Apparently Hoeven turned down an opportunity to debate his opponent Tracy Potter in events sponsored by Forum Communications and television station in Bismarck. The explanation? The events were “sponsored by specific media companies.”
Which is just about the lamest excuse for not debating I’ve ever heard. And Potter’s campaign is, rightfully, calling foul:
Don Morrison, campaign manager for Democratic-NPL candidate Tracy Potter, issued a news release that said the rejection was “typical” of Hoeven’s campaign so far.
“Not only is he afraid to be measured alongside Sen. Potter’s formidable debating skills, but Hoeven is showing that he’s afraid to talk about any issues in front of an audience,” Morrison wrote.
“He would prefer to buy the election with 30-second ads that don’t say anything at all about what he’ll do if we send him to Washington,” he added.
I chuckled a bit when I read that part about Potter’s “formidable debating skills,” but that last comment is spot-on. It’s pretty clear that Hoeven wants to cruise to victory in November without really engaging his opponent at all.
I think Hoeven would be a big improvement over Dorgan. Given the choice between Hoeven and Potter, I’m absolutely voting for Hoeven. But that doesn’t mean that Hoeven gets to “vote present” on his campaign.
Debates aren’t for the candidates. Debates are for the public. And Hoeven has no business denying the public these debates based on grounds as flimsy as this.
Tags: election 2010, John Hoeven, North Dakota News, Tracy Potter
