As Virginia’s candidates for governor prep for their first debate this weekend, there’s some disagreement over how many more debates there should be. Democrat Ralph Northam has agreed to three, but Republican Ed Gillespie is pushing for more.
This weekend Gillespie and Northam will appear together in their first debate before November’s election. Between now and then Northam has accepted invites to two more: one in Northern VIrginia in September, and another in southwest Virginia in October.
In addition to those debates, Northam has also signed on to seven joint appearances, ranging from a forum on the Chesapeake Bay to an event sponsored by the NAACP.
But Republican Ed Gillespie says that’s not enough. He accepted invitations to 10 different debates.
Uninvolved in the conversation is Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra, who hasn’t been invited to any of this year’s debates.
The full list of debates Gillespie has agreed to, Northam has also agreed to the bolded options:
• Virginia Bar Association Debate
• WRIC-TV, WAVY-TV, WHAG-TV, and WFXR-TV Debate
• Governor Doug Wilder Debate
• The Center for Rural Virginia Debate
• UVA Batten School and Southwest Virginia Technology Council Debate at UVA-Wise
• Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Debate
• Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Debate
• Virginia Tech and WDBJ-TV Debate
• Radio One & Miss Community Clovia Debate
• Liberty University Debate
