U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski’s challenger Lynn Coleman continues to complain about the lack of a televised debate during the campaign. “I think it’s extremely, extremely disrespectful to the voters and to our constituents,” Coleman said Tuesday. “And it’s just another way, I think, that Jackie – or it appears to be Jackie anyway – is manipulating the system, and it’s wrong. And the voters are smart enough to see through that, too, and I’m telling you, that from the people that we’ve talked to, they are extremely, extremely disappointed and upset in the way that this whole thing has worked out.”
The two candidates are scheduled to debate each other in-person for the first time on Tuesday in Wabash. “It’s going to be hosted by Farm Bureau, who has already publicly endorsed her as their candidate,” Coleman said. “The moderator is going to be a gentlemen that Jackie served with in the Indiana State Legislature. When she was a state rep several years ago, her and this guy served together. He’s going to be the moderator asking the questions. There’s been no opportunity for outside press to be invited to be a part of it, to ask questions or to be involved in the process.”
Where exactly the questions will come from is another point of contention for Coleman. He said members of the public were previously asked to submit questions, but now organizers have decided not to use them.
Coleman added that while he agreed to show up to next week’s debate, that doesn’t mean he agreed to the format. “What happened was that they called us and told us that Jackie had agreed to do this date, this time, this place, and asked us were we coming. Well, you know had we said no, then it would have sounded like we were not interested in debating with Jackie Walorski,” Coleman said. “So we didn’t have anything to do with the format or the process of this debate happening.”
Coleman was hesitant to even refer to next week’s event as a debate, during his comments following his visit to the Therapeutic Community at the Starke County Justice Center. While it will be broadcast on a Wabash radio station, Coleman said it’s not enough to allow the candidates to reach potential voters throughout the 2nd Congressional District. The two candidates previously appeared on WNIT-TV. However, Coleman said he and Walorski were interviewed separately, leaving no opportunity for discussion.
