EVANSVILLE — The League of Women Voters of Southwestern Indiana has tried. The University of Southern Indiana has tried. But nothing, apparently, will make Republican 8th District congressional candidate Mark Messmer debate his opponents.
Passing on a debate is a good move if you're looking strictly at the politics of it, said USI political scientist Matthew Hanka. Messmer, a Jasper-based former state senator, is running to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Larry Bucshon in one of the most Republican congressional districts in the nation.
On top of that, Messmer also has raised nearly all the campaign cash in the race — more than $1 million, likely far more than Democrat Erik Hurt of Evansville or Libertarian Party nominee Richard Fitzlaff will ever sniff.
"It’s just probably a perfect example of running out the clock," Hanka said of Messmer's refusal to debate. "I think (Messmer) is basing it on the side of, ‘I’ve got this won. I’m going to win because it’s a deep red (Republican) district. I’m not going to risk losing it by putting myself out there.'"
Messmer wouldn't return a call from the Courier & Press about his decision to skip a debate, having campaign manager Adam Johnson read a written statement instead.
"The offer to debate is appreciated, but with Sen. Messmer’s longtime service in the Legislature, voters are well aware of his position on the issues," said the statement. "Our campaign is spending its time every day meeting directly with voters in every corner of the district, so we will not be debating."
Meeting voters face to face is simply "a more fruitful way to go about the campaign," Johnson said in answer to questions.
Lacking the money to compete in television ad wars in a 21-county district that is home to some 750,000 people, Democrat Hurt and Libertarian Fitzlaff arguably need the free public exposure a debate could bring.
But Messmer's decision not to debate cannily deprives the two underdog candidates of that, Hanka said. It also shields Messmer from the possibility of making a verbal blunder or alienating a key constituency with something he says during a debate. There's simply no need to risk an unforced error.
"What does he have to gain?" Hanka said.
There have been attempts
USI "considered hosting a debate in October but decided against moving forward with those plans due to a lack of participation from all candidates," university spokesman John Farless said by email Wednesday.
It was Messmer who wouldn't debate, Fitzlaff's campaign said.
The League of Women Voters tried to arrange a debate, but that didn't happen either.
"Mr. Messmer won’t respond and doesn’t want to participate," Barbara Williams, the League's vice president, told the Courier & Press in August.
A confrontation
Boxed out by Messmer, Hurt and Fitzlaff have done the only thing they can do — they've tried to make political hay out of his refusal to debate.
On his campaign website, Fitzlaff offers a roughly 50-second video of him confronting Messmer at a public event and pressing him to debate. Messmer appears amenable to the idea.
"It depends on the time," Messmer is heard saying.
With a different camera angle from a second person who also was recording the exchange, Messmer appears to notice someone videotaping them. He gestures in that direction and asks Fitzlaff if he knew someone was recording them. Fitzlaff says yes.
"Then I'll talk to you later," Messmer says before walking away.
Fitzlaff portrays the incident on his website this way: "We asked the Republican candidate if he'd be willing to serve our constituents properly by having a debate with Mr. Fitzlaff and the Democrat candidate. He seemed in favor of the idea, until he realized he was being recorded."
Democrat Hurt also slams Messmer for declining to debate. Only, Hurt doesn't describe it quite that way.
"Messmer Continues to Duck Accountability by Dodging Debates," screamed a headline on a recent Hurt news release.
The news release took note of Messmer's recent decision to resign from the Indiana Senate to focus on his congressional campaign — although it didn't describe that very delicately, either.
"Mr. Messmer quit his job as state senator to run his campaign, and now he rejects a nonpartisan, educational opportunity to debate me and the Libertarian candidate," Hurt wrote. "This is the same kind of arrogant, Trumpist tactic that puts working Hoosiers last and his corporate interests first. I stand ready to put my progressive, problem-solving ideas against his weird, dystopian vision for Indiana any day, any time."
Hurt and Fitzlaff may not like it, said USI political scientist Hanka, but Messmer simply has the necessary advantages to plausibly believe he won't pay a political price for refusing to debate.
"He’s making a strategic decision not to participate in a debate with his opponents because he believes he has nothing to gain and maybe more to lose," Hanka said.