Governor Debates Are Going, Going, Gone

After a campaign event in Franklinton earlier this month, Democrat Josh Stein appeared to hold out hope of debating his Republican opponent, as has occurred in every North Carolina governor’s race since 1976. 

“I expect so,” Stein told The Assembly, “but it remains to be seen.”

The following day, Mark Robinson declined to answer questions on the subject in Mount Airy. He instead made clicking noises, glanced up at a campaign staff member, and ignored the question. 

But a few weeks later, both campaigns shifted.

On Tuesday, Robinson called on Stein to debate him on Spectrum News, the cable channel that wanted to host the forum and has co-hosted other Council of State debates. 

“I’m challenging you to a debate right now, Josh Stein,” Robinson said in a video posted on X. “Come on down. Let’s do this mano a mano and let’s get it done.”

Hours later, Stein’s campaign announced there’d be no debate with Robinson.

“A debate would only serve to legitimize him and provide a platform for his vile and dangerous rhetoric, and we won’t be part of that,” said Kate Frauenfelder, a Stein spokeswoman. 

Stein’s apparent change of heart might reflect a growing body of polls showing him leading Robinson by about 10 percentage points. 

Gary Pearce, a retired Democratic political operative, said he’d advise Stein not to debate Robinson.

“I don’t think [debates] matter much, don’t think that many people watch, don’t think undecided voters are watching it, and I don’t think you ought to give a platform to people who lie and spew hate and bigotry,” Pearce said.

In his video on X, Robinson accused Stein of misrepresenting his views and background. Robinson is lieutenant governor and Stein is state attorney general. 

“Well, Josh Stein, you like to misconstrue my Facebook posts on television,” Robinson said. “You like to lie about the wonderful daycare center that my wife and I ran, one of the proudest moments of our life. But will you debate me on television? I suspect that you will not.”

In recent election cycles in North Carolina, the gubernatorial candidates have debated less frequently–but they’ve always debated. 

In 2008, Democrat Bev Perdue and Republican Pat McCrory debated each other five times. Four of them had already occurred by mid-September. In 2012, there were three gubernatorial debates, followed by two in 2016, and one in 2020.

McCrory, who was elected governor in 2012 and served one term, called the absence of any gubernatorial debates this year “shameful” and criticized the news media for what he sees as a refusal to confront the candidates over their lack of accessibility.

“We should have many debates, especially for the top of the ticket,” McCrory said. “The new politics is avoiding debates. It’s disrespectful to the voters. The media, frankly, ought to be pressing. The media used to do a lot of stories on these avoiding debates, and they no longer do.”

Doug Heye, a GOP strategist who worked on three successful North Carolina U.S. Senate campaigns, said Robinson should’ve been front and center in calling for debates weeks ago. “I can’t understand it,” Heye said of the candidate’s evasiveness.

But Robinson’s campaign repeatedly ignored requests for comment on the prospects of a debate.

The North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, which has hosted many gubernatorial debates over the years, didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

Joe Stewart, vice president of governmental affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina, said campaigns have increasingly adopted risk-averse strategies to minimize public scrutiny and sidestep tough questions.

“Such a tiny percentage of the voters are legitimately undecided and influenceable,” Stewart said. “The political consultants say, ‘Don’t bother with the public appearances or the convocations of policy leaders or thought leaders in a community.’”

Instead, Stewart said, the consultants advise them to raise the money needed to drive home their message through other means, which has been tested through opinion research. “No debates that you have will have that same potential outcome,” he said. 

Other Council of State candidates are debating. Republican Dan Bishop and Democrat Jeff Jackson, who are running for state attorney general, debated in June. Republican Michele Morrow and Democrat Mo Green, who are running for superintendent of public instruction, held their first debate last week. Candidates for labor commissioner and state treasurer have also agreed to debates.

Notably, there is also no debate scheduled for the lieutenant governor’s race. Republican Hal Weatherman claimed on X last week that Democratic candidate Rachel Hunt had “pulled out of the one and only debate” this year. Hunt’s team, however, said no such debate was planned.

“It’s disappointing to see Hal Weatherman lie to voters about a debate that Rachel never agreed to,” Hunt campaign manager Zach Godwin told The Assembly via email. “Rachel is going to continue to travel the state and focus on meeting voters where they are, instead of giving Hal Weatherman a platform to spew his anti-abortion extremism and continue to repeat his election conspiracy theories for all North Carolinians to see.”

In the meantime, voters are being inundated with governor’s race ads, some from the campaigns and some from political committees. 

AdImpact, which tracks political advertising spending, found in late August that Stein had benefited from $46.4 million spent on TV ads, more than double the $20.4 million spent boosting Robinson. The gap widened on future ad reservations, with $16.2 million set aside for Stein and $1 million for Robinson.

At a Jonesville meet and greet on September 4, a Robinson supporter shook hands with the lieutenant governor and asked about his plan for combatting Stein’s television attacks. Robinson replied that he’d be coming out with an ad taking aim at Stein’s immigration views, which he did. 

Minutes later, Robinson stood before voters seated at Theo’s Italian & Family Restaurant. He blasted Stein and a news media he sees as supportive of his opponent. “These guys don’t want to talk about any of the substantive issues that you face!” 

The Assembly tried for more than a year to schedule an interview with Robinson, and the campaign agreed to make him available for a policy-focused Q&A. After promising for months to arrange the meeting, the campaign informed The Assembly on August 12 that Robinson wouldn’t be interviewed. 

Carli Brosseau contributed reporting.

Bryan Anderson is a freelance reporter who most recently covered elections, voting access, and state government for WRAL-TV. He previously reported for the Associated Press and The News & Observer. You can subscribe to his newsletter here.