Editorial of May 21, 2026

Are Candidate Debates Becoming a Thing of the Past?

One of our top stories this week is an article about sitting Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr., who has declined to participate in a proposed League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area-sponsored debate with challenger Mike Stalter.

We’re not going to get into the back story here. The article sums that up very well. Suffice to say that we respect all parties involved and, full disclosure, we are a co-sponsor of the LWVCA’s “An Evening with Elaine Weiss” event coming up on Thursday, May 28.

Opting out of political debates appears to be a trend, both locally and nationally, for both Republicans and Democrats.

President Donald J. Trump skipped a second debate with Kamala Harris in 2024. He also bypassed the 2023 Republican primary debates, on the grounds that they offered “little to no strategic advantage.” Trump’s refusal to debate did not, as we know, impede his run for a second term.

More recently, incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman, a member of the Los Angeles City Council—both Democrats—opted out of a televised mayoral candidate debate scheduled for May 13. Bass said a previously-scheduled trip prevented her from participating, and Raman pulled out because Bass did. By all accounts, mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt—a registered Republican running as an independent candidate—is still willing to take the stage.

Here in Otsego County, candidates in a number of local contests have declined to debate their opponents in past races.

In her 2023 campaign for Otsego County clerk, Republican nominee Jennifer Basile chose not to debate her Democratic opponent, MacGuire Benton. Among other reasons for her refusal to debate, Basile cited concerns regarding the sponsoring organization. Despite heavy criticism, Basile was successful in her bid for the clerk position.

According to a letter to the editor written by current LWVCA Co-president Hudi Podolsky and published in the issues of October 5, 2023, “We will not be able to hold a debate for the position of Hartwick supervisor, where Robert O’Brien was unwilling to join his opponent in debate. Voters will hear from only three of the four candidates running for Hartwick Town Council, as Bryan LoRusso has refused to participate.” Both O’Brien and LoRusso were elected that year.

And in 2025, in the race for Hartwick town supervisor and Hartwick Town Council, the Hartwick United slate—Cody Moore, JoAnn Gardner and Caren Kelsey—was willing to take part in a proposed LWVCA debate. But opponents Andrea Vazquez, Kimberly Henderson and Sarah McGuire were not. This time that choice seems not to have worked in the latter’s favor.
This all begs the question: Are candidate debates becoming a thing of the past? And, if so, why?

Some will argue that political debates have devolved into political theater. Others will disagree, contending such debates are a vital ingredient to better public policy and public leadership. But at the end of the day, both locally and nationally, a refusal to debate clearly does not necessarily weaken a candidate’s chance of being elected.

Thanks to his use of AI, Spencer Pratt has surged in popularity in his bid to be the next mayor of Los Angeles. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, by all accounts, owes much of his success to strategic utilization of social media.

So we wonder—is the move away from public debate a diversionary tactic? Is it truly due to the belief that such debates can and often do devolve into political theater? Or is this yet another example of the many ways in which the limitless use of social media and artificial intelligence is influencing our lives, and our elections, thus rendering public debate obsolete? I guess we’ll find out, come November.