Four Republican candidates for Pennsylvania governor facing a jam-packed primary unveiled a list of demands for moderators before they would consider taking part in a “potential debate.”
The campaign managers for Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman; Lou Barletta, a former congressman and mayor of Hazelton; Bill McSwain, a former Philadelphia attorney; and Dave White, a businessman, said in a joint letter that they “agreed” any moderators in a debate need to be a registered Republicans who lived in the state, according to PoliticsPA.
Acceptable moderators also are not allowed to have “endorsed or donated to” any of the candidates participating in the debate, used negative words in reference to any of the candidates onstage, or worked for an organization that has slandered the candidates. Prospective moderators are not allowed to ask questions that require answers to be provided in less than “30 seconds,” the campaign managers said in their letter.
Incredible pic.twitter.com/T7fZIcQCpa
— Ryan W Briggs (@rw_briggs) March 22, 2022
The demands, which are addressed to “Members of the Pennsylvania Press,” do not mention the general election, only the GOP primary in which there is a wide stable of candidates beyond those four. The gubernatorial primaries are set to take place in mid-May.
“Republicans ought to be the ones who control a Republican process to choose the Republican nominee for a governor,” Tim Murtaugh, a senior adviser to the Barletta campaign who was also part of former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “It’s as simple as that. The media aren’t motivated to select the best candidate to beat Josh Shapiro, but Republicans are.”
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The demands from the candidates were criticized by some of their Republican opponents.
Unlike some other Republican candidates running for governor, I’m not afraid to debate.
I’ll debate the other candidates any time, any place. If you’re afraid to debate, how do you plan on defeating @JoshShapiroPA? #GoGerow https://t.co/16Z1AyV5XO
— Charlie Gerow (@Charlie_Gerow) March 22, 2022
Charlie Gerow, the CEO of a public relations firm, said in a statement on Twitter that, unlike his opponents, he is “not afraid to debate.”
The four Republicans backing the aforesaid specific moderator conditions were dubbed “candidates who will leap at a chance to bemoan ‘cancel culture’ or ‘safe spaces’ if they think it will earn them a spot on cable news that night,” according to a statement released by Melissa Hart, a former Allegheny County representative who is also running on the GOP side.
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State Sen. Doug Mastriano; Joe Gale, a commissioner from Montgomery County; Jason Richey, a Pittsburgh attorney; and Dr. Nche Zama, a cardiothoracic surgeon, are also participating in the crowded GOP primary, according to City and State Pennsylvania.
On the Democratic side, Josh Shapiro, the attorney general, has announced his bid for governor and is likely to become the nominee for the party, according to NBC Philadelphia.
