When I ran for Nevada State Assembly District 36 in the 2016 general election, I challenged incumbent Assemblyman James Oscarson to debate me so voters would get an opportunity to see and hear both candidates on the issues in person – not through mailers, billboards, radio, TV and newspaper ads.
And just to make sure he saw it, we published the letter in a full-page ad in the Pahrump Valley Times in addition to sending it to him via mail, email and fax. If you missed our slightly tongue-in-cheek “Most Incredible Debate Challenge in the History of American Politics!” invitation, click here.
Mr. Oscarson not only didn’t agree to debates back then, he didn’t even acknowledge our challenge.
Instead he hid behind media attack ads, many leveled by shadowy third-party entities funded anonymously by special interest money – of which he had a BOATLOAD!
They don’t call him “The Big Selloutski” for nothing.
This year for the June 12th Republican primary election Mr. Oscarson has been invited to participate in a candidate debate hosted by the Nye County Republican Party on April 6th. As of today he still has refused to accept the party’s invitation.
Instead, I received on Friday a written invitation from his campaign manager, Laura Billman, to participate in a single televised debate on KPVM Channel 46 in Pahrump.
While I’m more than happy to debate our soon-to-be-former assemblyman on TV, some of the terms outlined by Mr. Oscarson for a tightly scripted, media-controlled and sanitized debate are problematic and, in my opinion, won’t provide voters throughout the entire district with the information they need to make a truly informed decision.
Our campaign will be formally responding to Mr. Oscarson’s proposal in the next day or so. But I wanted to share his invitation with you today.
Click here to read it for yourself
What do you think?
Shoot me your thoughts via email to: [email protected]
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