A debate between Georgia gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson, was canceled after Jackson declined to participate. The decision sparked backlash against Jackson, as some Georgia residents described it as a cowardly move.
As reported by Fox, the debate was scheduled to take place at the 11Alive studios in Atlanta on September 22. Bottoms reportedly agreed to participate in all six debates, while Jackson only agreed to participate in one, leading to the cancellation.
Outside the studio, supporters of the two campaigns confronted each other, with Jackson’s supporters interrupting a Democratic Party news conference.
Georgians Criticize Rick Jackson
News of the debate’s cancellation led users on Reddit’s r/Georgia to criticize the Republican candidate. One user wrote: “What world is this we live in now that politicians can just skip debates?”
Others said that Bottoms should have gone ahead with the debate and used the situation to her advantage: “She should still hold the debate. Let her talk about her platform if he doesn’t want to show.” Others agreed: “Shouldn’t have canceled. Bottoms should have done what they did in Michigan and debated an empty spot.”
What seemingly irritated voters was the perception that skipping debates was part of an overall strategy: “The Republican Strategy in GA has really started to look like ‘avoid confrontation and public statements at all costs.’ My guess is that their internal polling is showing that they’re losing the votes of Republicans across the state, and so they basically want to keep their mouths shut before they lose any more.”
Someone else asked: “Why is it always the Republicans that chicken out of these things?” Another user responded: “Republicans know their platform sucks. Bottoms is not a strong candidate. Why is Jackson not willing to debate her? What is he afraid of? He’s an even worse candidate, counting on uninformed voters choosing him because of party allegiance. The Republican Party knows that if they put Jackson on a stage with Bottoms and ask him to debate her, he will fail miserably.”
Recent surveys indicate that this could be a fairly close race, so it remains to be seen which candidate will end up ahead in the election. Meanwhile, Jackson’s strategy appears to be to avoid many public confrontations with his opponent.
