Two governor’s debates are set to happen in Indiana prior to the Nov. 3 election.
According to the Indiana Debate Commission, Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, Democratic candidate Dr. Woody Myers and Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater will debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 at WFYI-TV’s studio.
While many debates focus solely on Republican and Democratic runners, Dr. Elizabeth Bennion, president of the Indiana Debate Commission, says it is important to inform Hoosiers of all potential candidates.
“Mr. Rainwater does qualify to be on the ballot in Indiana, and we don’t want people to show up at the polls, or get their ballot in the mail, and not have any idea who this person is on their ballot,” Bennion said. “In addition, it challenges the major party candidates to think about how their platform relates to the Libertarian party position rather than just defaulting to a standard talking point.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the debates will be a bit different this year. Where normally, the governor’s debates in Indiana would happen at multiple live venues, this time, the debates will instead happen in-studio.
“The candidates will be socially distanced, and there will be a very limited skeletal crew, and then we send the signal across the state,” Bennion said.
In terms of debate format, Bennion says the governor’s debates will be traditional: candidates will briefly introduce themselves before answering a series of policy questions that they haven’t seen before. Those questions are submitted by Hoosier voters on IndianaVoters.com.
“The Commission screens those questions. First, we sort them into topic areas, then look through which topics are coming up the most. Then, we pick questions,” Bennion said. “What we really want to do is put voters first, and have the candidates answer questions that are on the minds of Hoosier voters.”
Debates, Bennion says, are extremely vital to the election process because they allow people to see candidates side-by-side as they really are.
“In a debate, you don’t have the cover of a surrogate. ‘Oh, that was my campaign manager, that was the communication director, I disavow that statement if it’s unpopular’,” Bennion said. “You’re hearing from the candidates in their own words, and so they’re taking accountability for what they say.”
1 comment
The debate commission is a joke. They are biased. They know including Rainwater will likely take votes from Holcomb. Once again Hoosiers are faced with choosing the least defective candidate. I already voted so it doesn’t matter to me what any of them say at any debate. A huge number of voters will vote based on the maskerade that Holcomb forced on us. He has no clue just how angry Hosiers are about his actions over the last 6-months. A vote for Myers is a vote for more of the same regarding the cornyvirus maskerade. Besides, in his work history, every time he ran up against opposition he QUIT HIS JOB. If he receives opposition will he quit or become tyrannical?? We already know what Holcomb and Myers will do. If we can believe Rainwater he will remove the tyranny of Holcomb.