Independent U.S. Senate candidate Craig Jelks issued a statement Wednesday challenging Republican nominee U.S. Representative Barry Moore, R-Alabama, and Democratic nominee Everett Wess to a formal debate ahead of the November 3 midterm election.
“I am formally challenging Barry Moore and Everett Wess to a debate before November 3,” Jelks wrote in the official statement. “Not a forum. Not a town hall. A debate—where the people of Alabama can see every candidate for the United States Senate on the same stage, answering the same questions, at the same time. This shouldn’t be a controversial request. It should be a requirement.”
Jelks argued that a debate would even the playing field between the three candidates in a race marked by vast disparities in spending. Moore has raised nearly $3.8 million, while Wess has raised just over $80,000. Jelks has not raised or spent more than $5,000, exempting him from filing with the Federal Election Commission.
“Alabama voters are being asked to choose their next United States Senator in 34 days. Barry Moore has $3.8 million. Everett Wess has $83,000. I have something neither of them has—a campaign built entirely on the belief that Alabama voters deserve the truth, delivered directly, without a filter,” Jelks said. “But none of that matters if Alabama voters never see us together.”
Jelks went on to state that he expects Moore to turn down his invitation and “continue the pattern of Republican frontrunners avoiding debates.”
Indeed, several high-profile Republican nominees have shied away from debating their Democratic opponents this cycle, including Ken Paxton in Texas and Mike Rogers in Michigan. In his statement, Jelks called the trend an “affront to democracy” that “must end.”
“A candidate who won’t face his opponents before the election has no mandate from the people—he has a mandate from party machinery,” Jelks said. “Alabama deserves better than a senator who was handed a seat without ever having to defend it.”
“So here is my message to Barry Moore: debate or withdraw,” he continued. “If you won’t make the case for your Senate candidacy in front of the people you want to represent, you have no business asking for their vote. Being the frontrunner should never equate to a ‘Get Out of a Debate’ card.”
Jelks also called on Alabama’s media outlets to “[demand] debates as a condition of coverage” and to highlight any candidate’s avoidance of a debate “every day, until they agree.”
“There are a lot of Alabamians who are hurting and looking to their political leaders for help,” Jelks said. “Candidates and the press have an obligation to show up. For the debate. For Alabama. For the people who are counting on us.”
APR sent requests for comment to Wess’ and Moore’s campaigns but did not receive responses by the time of publication.
