Attorney General Josh Stein (left) and Lt. Governor Mark Robinson (right). (Courtesy photos)
With less than 50 days until Election Day, there are no concrete plans for a televised debate in North Carolina’s gubernatorial race.
But Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee who trails by significant margins in recent public opinion polls, is now pushing for one in a video released on social media Tuesday and directed at his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Stein.
“I’ve already agreed to the Spectrum debate, I’ve already given them multiple dates,” Robinson said during the video, in which he calls Stein a “liar” and “cowardly.” “You have not answered.”
A spokesperson for Stein’s campaign, as well as the news director for Spectrum News 1, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Stein, asked by reporters at a campaign event earlier this month if he would debate Robinson, said he expected to.
“I expect so,” Stein said in Franklinton on Sept. 3. “But it remains to be seen.”
A televised debate — if agreed to by both candidates — would provide a rare occasion for Stein and Robinson to appear together, despite both serving on the Council of State. And it would offer voters an extended look at the high-profile race that has garnered extensive spending and attention in a battleground state.