The following editorial published in The Dallas Morning News on Oct. 26:
True democracy requires participation. Not just from voters, but from politicians.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learned this political cycle, it’s that too many North Texas politicians, and especially GOP politicians, will go out of their way to avoid dealing with questions they don’t want to answer or people who might disagree with them.
It starts with debates and forums. Once upon a time, it was customary for politicians to face their opponents a few times in front of a few different audiences.
But an increasing number of political candidates just skipped forums that make them answerable to the public. That’s among the troubling trends we spotted after more than a month of interviewing candidates, and inviting them — sometimes cajoling them — into giving our readers answers about where they stand on important policy issues. Many are simply opting out of the political process. It’s a nationwide fad, and a bad one.
Out of 235 candidates for 105 races we invited to participate in The Dallas Morning News Voter Guide for this general election, 147 filled out the questionnaire. Out of 94 invited to participate in our candidate interviews, 31 declined or just didn’t reply.
Most of those opting out are Republicans. Of the 88 candidates who didn’t participate in our Voter Guide, 48 were Republicans and 29 were Democrats. Of the 31 who didn’t attend our candidate interviews, 25 were Republicans.
We aren’t alone. Last week, Ellen Steger, president of the Richardson chapter of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, wrote in to say that her group planned candidate forums for two Texas House districts but had to cancel because both Republican candidates declined to participate. Those candidates also didn’t fill out the LWV voter guide.
In Tarrant County, Tim O’Hare and Phil Sorrells, Republican candidates for top county positions, declined to participate in the Fort Worth Report’s debate. In fact, they have declined every such invitation since the primary, the outlet reported.
It’s not just in North Texas either. During primary season this spring, Politico detailed a nationwide slate of Republican candidates who skipped traditional election forums like debates. Those include gubernatorial candidates in Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio, North Carolina and Nevada. This after the Republican National Convention parted ways with the Commission on Presidential Debates in April.
The assertion from party pundits will be that conservatives don’t get a fair hearing from mainstream media sources, but that reason doesn’t hold up in primary debates or with nonpartisan groups like the League of Women Voters. Nor does it make sense for a media outlet like ours, which recommended more Republicans than Democrats in the 2020 election.
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