#TBT: Virginia Democrats Promise Gubernatorial Debates That Are Still Non-Existent

March 30, 2017

While Virginia’s Republican candidates for governor have engaged in numerous debates discussing the issues most important to Virginia families, the Democrats running for governor have not held a single debate and have no plans to do so, despite promising that they would. In a March 16 interview on the John Fredericks Show, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Tom Perriello said that he and Ralph Northam’s campaign have been in talks and that we could expect “probably half a dozen” debates between the two candidates:

JOHN FREDERICKS: “Now look, Republicans have already debated two times. They’ve got four more debates scheduled. They’re a four-way primary also on June 13th is going to be very little crossover here, why haven’t the Democrats debated?”

TOM PERRIELLO: “We will, we’ve already been talking about it, we’re certainly eager to do so, we’ve done a number of joint appearances, you know Ralph’s obviously been in the General Assembly until recently and we wanted to respect that space so I think we’ll have a good healthy number of debates and I know we’re very eager to get to that.”

JOHN FREDERICKS: “Okay so you would expect what? Several, three maybe four?”

TOM PERRIELLO: “Uh, I think the conversation has been going along, I think probably half a dozen, something like that. We certainly want an opportunity for a lot of substance and to do it together, so we tend to be a party that’s very comfortable with open, critical debate so I know the Republicans have been having some good ones on their side as well.”

But in the two weeks since Perriello has made these statements, there has been no talk whatsoever of any plans between Northam and Perriello to schedule debates. Instead, the two have engaged in flinging vicious insults at one another from afar while writing op-eds to reach west coast liberals instead of Virginia voters. With polls showing their party sharply divided between the two candidates, Perriello and Northam owe voters serious debates instead of empty commitments they won’t follow through on.