09-23-2022, 06:29 PM
Quote:Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s governor race, sitting Attorney General Josh Shapiro, has refused to debate his Republican counterpart, Pennsylvania state senator Doug Mastriano.'
According to officials within the campaign, Shaprio has ducked Mastriano’s requests to debate for weeks.
His campaign team had sent a request to Shapiro for a debate, to be held on October 22, with Mercedes Schlapp moderating the debate.
Mastriano's team says that Shapiro rejected the proposal, and called the whole thing an "unserious stunt."
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce also was set to hold a debate on October 3, though that debate will also not be occurring, after Shapiro would not agree to conditions set forth by Mastriano, according to Fox News.
Mastriano had demanded that both he and Shapiro be able to pick moderators of their choice and field questions from both of them, after Mastriano took issue with the selected moderator, ABC27 local TV journalist Dennis Owens.
Mastriano’s campaign argued that Owens was a member of the "legacy media" that had "relentlessly amplified Josh Shapiro's false charges against the Senator."
"Doug Mastriano will debate Attorney General Shapiro anytime, anyplace where Shapiro can't hide behind the cover of his partners in the mainstream media," a Mastriano campaign spokesman told Fox News. "We appreciate the PA chamber working with us to try to host a gubernatorial debate."
Senior advisor to the Mastriano campaign, Jenna Ellis, told The Post Millennial, “Mastriano offered Shapiro anyone of his choosing for moderator, even including Donna Brazile and said she can give Shapiro the questions in advance. Doug will answer them. He just wants equality in debate and for Josh to let him choose a moderator as well. He doesn’t need the questions in advance.”
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