Road to Richmond may go through NRV

Virginia’s major-party candidates for governor don’t agree on much. They’re even having a hard time settling on where and when to hold debates to talk about how much they disagree.

As of Friday, Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe had tentatively agreed to just three debates. The first of those took place two weekends ago when Cuccinelli and McAuliffe squared off at the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs. In case you had something better to do on that summer Saturday morning, you can find the video on the “PBS NewsHour” YouTube channel.

The two remaining debates will take place after Labor Day, when voters are paying attention to the campaigns. And it looks like the final clash between the candidates will take place at Virginia Tech in October. If so, this will be the second year in a row that statewide candidates come to Blacksburg to get in their last licks before Election Day.

Representatives from both campaigns said last week that their candidates have committed to participate in the Tech debate, but details are still being negotiated with debate sponsor WDBJ. Tentative plans call for the debate to take place Oct. 17 or Oct. 24 at the Haymarket Theatre in Squires Student Center, the same venue used for last year’s clash between U.S. Senate candidates Tim Kaine and George Allen.

“We’re about 80 percent there,” said Tech professor Bob Denton, the respected political analyst who heads the Department of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences .

Landing the final debate would be an impressive feat for Tech and WDBJ. The only other debate invitation that both candidates have accepted is the Sept. 25 event hosted by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce in McLean.

Organizing a statewide televised debate is “a major undertaking,” Denton said. That the campaigns agreed to participate owes to Denton’s reputation and the quality of last year’s Senate debate on the Tech campus, which was produced by WSLS.

“I think we had a reputation of doing a good job,” Denton said.

In the past three gubernatorial elections, there were no more than four debates. The final debates of the 2001 and 2009 gubernatorial campaigns took place in the Roanoke television market. The final debates of the 2008 and 2012 Senate races were staged in this market, as well.

Cuccinelli, the self-assured attorney general, challenged McAuliffe to 15 debates in this campaign. McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman, dismissed Cuccinelli’s challenge as a stunt and said he would do five. But there are only three debate invitations that both campaigns have accepted so far.

Denton, an expert in political communication, is a big believer in debates as a means of testing candidates.

“I think candidates have a moral obligation to participate in them,” he said.

In recent gubernatorial campaigns, debates have not produced big momentum shifts. But they have served to reinforce strengths and weaknesses of the candidates and their messages.

In 2009, Republican Bob McDonnell was comfortably ahead of Democrat Creigh Deeds in the polls by the time they met for their last debate at Roanoke College. McDonnell stuck to his “Bob’s for Jobs” mantra and refused to be baited into extensive discussions on social issues. In the end, the debate may be best remembered for a technical malfunction that disrupted the audio feed from WSLS. For several minutes, McDonnell and Deeds could be heard only by the 400 spectators in the auditorium while reporters and campaign staffers outside the hall and the television audience were left to guess what the candidates were saying.

Cuccinelli and McAuliffe are locked in a close race, according to recent polls. The attack ads are already on the air and the volume will increase as summer turns to fall. The two campaigns are working feverishly to paint negative portraits of the opposition. Only time will tell how much influence the debates will have on voters.

“If you’re honest-to-goodness undecided, debates can make an impact,” Denton said.

If that’s the case, Blacksburg could be the last important stop on the road to Richmond.

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