It appears like voters in the new 15th Illinois Congressional District won’t be hearing a debate from candidates before Election Day in November.
A press release from Democratic candidate Paul Lange’s campaign says Lange has expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to debate his Republican opponent and incumbent Mary Miller. So far, Lange says Miller has remained silent to any requests.
Lange says a debate is scheduled for October 18th with WGEM-TV of Quincy, but Lange says Miller is keeping with some candidates’ strategies of refusing to debate opponents: “In general, a number of candidates think it’s easier to not do it, especially if she thinks she’s got a big lead. If I’m not mistaken, she didn’t debate in her previous campaign [in 2020]. I don’t think she debated Rodney Davis. She just figures she can win without debating, so why debate?”
Lange says he’s happy to talk to anyone about issues. Lange says it’s important to hear from candidates on the issues more than simply being a media personality.
Lange has made it a pointed piece of his campaign that he wants to work for the people of the 15th District and wants to hear their opinions to take them to Washington D.C.
Lange says he’s enjoyed his campaign tour of the district: “It’s been slow, but I believe I have gotten to 26 counties. I’ve still got 9 more to go. I’m going to check one off on Thursday. I went to Menard County and Petersburg earlier this week. It’s beautiful country up there. I’m going to do it if it kills me, but I’m going to all of the counties in the district before Election Day.”
Muddy River News says they reached out for a response from the Miller campaign earlier this week and received no answer. The lack of response from the Miller campaign was a regular theme during the Republican primary with Rodney Davis, with Miller only giving an interview on Primary Election Day in June after multiple requests from WLDS News. According to FiveThirtyEight, Miller maintains a double-digit lead over Lange across the 15th District.