By J.C. Bruce
Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly has decided to bow out of a chance to face his Republican rival, Byron Donalds, on the debate stage.
It’s a risky move that forgoes the opportunity to reach a broad television audience at a time when Jolly is being heavily outspent by his opponent.
But here’s his reasoning:
“You can’t debate a liar.”
He added:
“It is clear, given the tenor of the current campaign environment, including Byron’s repeated lies and bad faith, that debates this cycle would not create constructive, honest conversation and only further stoke division, animosity, and bad will. His ads and allegations have repeatedly been found to be false, and it is clear he is simply looking for avenues to continue misleading Florida’s voters.”
Debate avoidance seems to be the new thing in Florida politics.
As the Miami Herald notes:
Jolly’s announcement further dampens the prospects that voters will see candidates in significant races debate before they vote. Neither Jolly nor Donalds debated their primary opponents, and with Election Day less than six weeks away … and mail ballots going out … candidates up and down the ballot are either shooting down debates or accusing their opponents of ducking them.
Among those races that will be debate-free is the other big statewide race for the U.S. Senate between appointed incumbent Republican Ashley Moody and her Democratic opponent, State Rep. Angie Nixon.
Moody has turned down several proposals from the Nixon campaign to meet on stage because, as she’s told reporters, Nixon’s playbook is straight from the “Communist Manifesto.”
Moody apparently defines communism as showing support for higher minimum wages, the expansion of health insurance benefits, and opposition to corporate corruption, all parts of Nixon’s platform, which you can read for yourself here.
Nixon’s response to this:
If Moody’s “too weak to step on a debate stage, she’s too weak to represent and fight for Floridians in the U.S. Senate.” She added:
“The only people Moody listens to are the insurance executives and extremist DC donors lining her pockets. She knows I’m running to actually deliver for working Florida families – lowering rent, slashing property insurance rates, getting healthcare and childcare for all, and so much more. It’s a vision she could never deliver on because she’s too busy hiding from the $10 million in healthcare money she helped steal from sick kids, and apparently also hiding from me. “
Back to Jolly and Donalds:
Donalds, who has raised over $100 million—dwarfing Jolly’s campaign war chest—is spending liberally on TV ads suggesting that among other taxes Jolly would levy as governor would include a $1,000 tax on every Florida household.
“No governor would do that,” Jolly replied. “It’s all lies.”
As WLRN reports:
What Jolly has proposed is a state-backed “catastrophic fund” for homeowners’ insurance, fully removing hurricane and wind coverage from the private marketplace and putting it into a state sovereign wealth fund, which he contends would substantially cut homeowners insurance rates.
He says the fund would be paid for by making insurance companies pay taxes that they now avoid, adding that fees on real estate transactions (better known as Florida documentary tax stamps) and existing tourist development taxes are also “on the table” to build up that fund.
Be that as it may, long-distance debates through the news media or on social media are not the same thing as face-to-face confrontations with opportunities to set the record straight.
Jolly’s gamble is that he doesn’t need that to succeed, and recent polling shows the race is much tighter than expected.
This from WESH:
Even though Republicans have 1.5 million more registered voters than Democrats, Donalds and Jolly are separated by just a fraction of a point at 43.5% for Donalds, and 43.4% for Jolly. Just over 13% are for other candidates or undecided.
But with six weeks left, anything can happen. Including, I suppose, a change of heart about these debates. We’ll see.
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J.C. Bruce
I am very disappointed by this. Why would Jolly not relish the chance to point out Donalds' lies on a public stage? Yes, you can debate lies, if you're a good debater and have facts to back you up. I hope this doesn't backfire on him, but it's not a good look. 😕