Former Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger won’t be debating her Republican rival Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears on CNN before the election of the commonwealth’s next governor.
CNN invited both gubernatorial candidates for the fall debate. Earle-Sears accepted. Spanberger declined.
Both candidates appear to be jockeying for the most advantageous venue, with Earle-Sears earlier declining a debate invitation from “The People’s Debate,” hosted by a CBS affiliate, and Spanberger accepting.
Earle-Sears cited a “scheduling conflict” for declining.
Spanberger’s campaign cited wanting only local debate hosts, not national ones such as CNN.
“We have declined an offer to participate in a debate hosted by CNN in order to prioritize Virginia broadcasters and ensure the focus remains squarely on issues impacting Virginia,” said Samson Signori, Spanberger’s campaign manager told CNN.
Polls have shown Spanberger maintaining a lead against Earle-Sears, Fox News reported.
“The Decision Desk HQ’s average of polls has shown the former Democrat lawmaker with 45% support among Virginia voters, while the Republican is behind with 36%,” according to the news network. “Democrat Kamala Harris won the state by five points in the 2024 presidential contest.”
The election will be on November 4, 2025.
Observers credit the 2021 debate between former Democrat Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and challenger and current Gov. Glenn Youngkin with propelling the GOP candidate into office.
In the debate, Youngkin challenged his opponent over his decision to veto a law that would have allowed parents to be informed about materials available to students in commonwealth schools.
McAuliffe famously alienated voting parents with his response: “I’m not going to allow parents to come into schools and actually take books out, make their own decision. Yeah, I stopped the bill that – I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
Youngkin became the first Republican governor of Virginia since 2009. Virginia law prevents its governors from holding consecutive terms. Earle-Sears is Virginia’s first female lieutenant governor and the first woman of color to hold statewide office in the commonwealth.
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