Seattle, WA: Sept. 27, 2024 – Maria Cantwell has apparently decided debating her opponent in front of voters on live TV in Seattle is too hard, or not worth her while.
The incumbent U.S. Senator, who has held the office for more than 23 years, is refusing to participate in a live televised debate at Seattle University sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Washington and KIRO-7 TV.
Originally scheduled for Oct. 19 at 7pm, the Seattle debate would give voters in Western Washington the opportunity to see the candidates answer questions from journalists in an unscripted forum. Debate organizers are still trying to secure Cantwell’s participation.
Dr Raul Garcia, Cantwell’s challenger, agreed to preliminary plans for the debate in June and to the formal invitation in August. After months of hemming and hawing, Cantwell now claims to have a conflict with the date and time.
As of now, the only candidate forum Cantwell has agreed to is an Oct. 8 debate in Spokane which will be recorded and streamed in the afternoon and aired later in the day on Spokane Public Television. Earlier this month Cantwell declined to attend a “Meet the Candidates” event for the deaf community at the Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver, which Garcia attended.
Garcia said voters in Western Washington deserve to hear from all candidates.
“Anyone asking to be voted into elected office should be willing and ready to face the voters and answer questions,” said Garcia, an emergency room doctor from Yakima.
“It’s astonishing to me that Sen. Cantwell is unwilling to defend her record and her positions in our state’s most populous region. It’s undemocratic. It shows a contempt for voters and for the people she is supposed to represent.
“The main reason I decided to run for office is because I’ve seen that our leaders, including Sen. Cantwell, are not properly representing the people of Washington and solving our most urgent problems — especially the deadly fentanyl crisis, our weak economy and high cost of living, women’s healthcare access, and rising crime.
“People deserve a U.S. Senator who will listen to them and work for their best interests. Unfortunately, Sen. Cantwell appears to be most concerned about holding on to power with as little interaction with voters as possible.”