Udall, Pearce spar over debates

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

The debate over debates in New Mexico politics heated up Tuesday, with Democratic Rep. Tom Udall’s campaign calling for three televised debates with Rep. Steve Pearce for the U.S. Senate seat.

In response, Pearce’s campaign agreed at least three debates are needed, but still accused Udall of ducking debates by failing to respond to previous challenges by the Republican candidate to “immediately” discuss energy issues.

Speaking Saturday at the opening of the “Victory ‘08” Republican campaign office in Albuquerque, Pearce said, “We can’t get Udall to debate us. He’s just afraid to give his ideas out in front of the people.”

Early Tuesday morning, the Udall campaign released a letter dated Monday from Udall’s campaign manager, Amanda Cooper, that incorrectly identified Pearce's chief of staff,  Bob Carter, as his campaign manager. The letter reads in part:

 “To make the decision of who our next Senator will be, New Mexicans deserve to see the candidates side-by-side, engaging in a vigorous exchange of ideas with each other.  They deserve to see where each candidate stands on the issues that matter most to New Mexico and our nation.

 “To that end, we propose that Congressman Pearce join Congressman Udall in a series of three statewide televised debates.

 “We propose the following principles to shape the debate schedule:

• Three televised debates, to begin after Labor Day;

• Debates coordinated to reach every part of New Mexico;

• A variety of formats to allow the most statewide interaction with the people of New Mexico.

 “We look forward to working with the Pearce campaign to agree upon three, well-planned, statewide debates heading into the fall.  We hope the Pearce campaign will join us to ensure that all New Mexicans have the opportunity to participate and have their voices heard in this historic United States Senate campaign.

 “I will be contacting you in the coming days to set up a meeting where we can work out the details.  We look forward to finalizing a debate schedule and giving the people of New Mexico the chance to see the candidates exchange ideas and discuss their very different visions for the direction of our state and our country."

Later in the day, Pearce's actual campaign manager, John Billingsley, responded to Cooper by letter, which in part read:

"The Pearce campaign completely agrees that at least three debates made available to all media in New Mexico in a format that provides the widest discussion of ideas is essesential for what is truly a historic election.

"Both Congressman Udall and Congressman Pearce have voting records that speak to who they are and what they believe. We look forward to the opportunity to reveal Congressman Udall's record to the people while proudly reminding voters of Congressman Pearce's common sense, pro-family, pro-business record.

"I am taking the liberty of sending this letter to the New Mexico press so they may assist both of us in ensuring the widest possible coverage for the people."

Brian Phillips, campaign spokesman for Pearce, said Udall was attempting to dictate terms after failing to respond to two previous debate/forum challenges.

“He did not respond to our initial request for a debate on energy immediately,” Phillips said. "We requested one back on June 22 to debate energy specifically as soon as humanly possible. We meant that within the next month.

“This is not a response to our request. He still has not responded to our request for a debate on energy as soon as possible. This is some sort of tentative debate sometime after Labor Day. This is not before Labor Day. This is three he’s requested after Labor Day.

“He’s absolutely ducking us," Phillips said. "When the New Mexico Farm Bureau said they wanted to have a debate, Udall said, ‘It’s going to be my way or the highway. We’re not going to debate in August.’ And he said it’s going to be a forum, not a debate, even though the New Mexico Farm Bureau wanted a debate.

"Now he’s got this letter out there.  He has definitely ducked debates.”

Despite the differences, Phillips said he was optimistic some form of debates would happen.

Meanwhile, the two candidates who are seeking to replace Udall in the Third Congressional District don’t have debates scheduled. Republican Dan East accused Democrat Ben Ray Lujan of ducking debates.

“Lujan – we can’t get that young man out to debate us. We can’t get him to show up for debates or forums,” East said. “So he’s either not prepared, for one, or two, the DNC has him hidden for obvious reasons. He has no background and he has no experience.”

The Lujan campaign was flying from Chicago to Washington, D.C., late Tuesday morning and not immediately available for comment.