Sitting like kings top the West Virginia media landscape, West Virginia talk radio hosts Hoppy Kercheval and Howard Monroe this morning cut a deal on the upcoming debate between Senate candidates Republican Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Natalie Tennant.
The West Virginia Press Association, West Virginia Public Broadcasting and AARP announced this week that a debate between the two will take place October 7, 2014 in Charleston.
Press Association director Don Smith says the organizations are deciding whether to invite Libertarian John Buckley and Mountain Party candidate Bob Henry Baber.
Capito says she wants all four in the debate.
Baber says he wants in. Baber is the only candidate on the ballot opposed to mountaintop removal mining.
“I’m on the ballot and I should be in the debates,” Baber said. “We should trust the people to decide who they want to represent them. The people must have the information to decide.”
But Kercheval and Monroe say no.
They came to an agreement this morning that if Buckley and Baber agreed to bow out of the October 7 debate between Tennant and Capito, then Kercheval and Monroe would each give them one hour on their respective radio shows for a “second tier” debate.
Saying that he “may be involved” in the October 7 debate and “this is going to hurt me professionally,” Kercheval proposed that if there is only one debate, and “Bob Henry and John opt out of it,” then he and Monroe would each give them an hour to debate each other.
Monroe agreed.
“We need to see the two key contenders side by side talking about the the matters that matter,” Monroe said. “Probably keeping it to those two (Capito and Tennant) makes the most sense.”
“I will spring for lunch to sweeten the deal,” Kercheval said.