If there is one thing that any candidate lagging in the polls should ask for, it is lots of debates!
Free stage time is chicken soup for your candidacy, especially when you are confident that you know the issues better than your opponent.
Enter State Senator Brad Pfaff (Democrat, La
Crosse) who is currently running against 2nd time candidate Derrick Van Orden (Republican, Prairie du Chien) as they seek to replace longtime incumbent Representative Ron Kind who has decided to retire after more than a quarter century as the 3rd Congressional District Rep.
The voters deserve ample public debate from any candidates seeking a United States House seat where the winner will
be compensated $174,000 per year to represent the people in Washington, DC. A lot of people would be willing to spend 1-3 hours under the hot lights of television and the ferociously intimidating media inquisition for a 2-year gig at that compensation level, right?
While participation in at least one debate should be a prerequisite for a House seat, State Senator Pfaff may have been a little heavy handed in his insistence that Van Order meet him on a debate stage.
“Anything short of a full acceptance of this challenge means that Derrick is either incapable of engaging in a candid and frank conversation about real solutions to voters’ real concerns, or he is too afraid of me and the voters of this district to risk a transparent and public event.”
While we at the Wisconsin Argus would contend that “Anything short of a full acceptance…” is language more befitting a Sith Lord than a kindhearted liberal from rural Wisconsin like Sen. Pfaff, we get the point. He wants to give the voters in the 3rd CD clear insight into the policy positions and leadership styles of the two candidates.
There seems to be no reasonable excuse not to participate in at least one, if not two or three debates, especially in a district as large as the Wisconsin 3rd which covers the Western half of the state south of Eau Claire (that’s about as simply as one can describe it). One is better than none. No debates at all would be a disservice to the constituents.
To that point, however, Van Order said, “Hold my beer!” …for all intents and purposes.
What Van Orden actually said via Twitter:
“Brad Pfaff will only debate while sitting in a Radical Leftist/ Elitist Echo Chamber surrounded by people who will be getting $10,000 checks cut to them by the Federal Government he is trying to join.
Sounds legit.”
"I challenge the media to provide a fair, town hall style setting for a debate with Brad Pfaff," Derrick Van Orden said in a statement Friday, referencing his Democratic opponent.
"75% of our district does not have a four year degree, and they deserve to ask the questions, not university professors or biased media."
A professional bureaucrat, Sen. Pfaff should easily prove his command of public policy and should be considered the favorite to win. Think Rebecca Kleefisch vs. Tim Michels on the debate stage in the GOP Gubernatorial Primary. Van Orden might be trying to avoid a drubbing on the issues.
Meanwhile Derrick Van Orden, a retired Navy Seal, is not known as a heavyweight on the issues. Van Order is very much a Trump-style populist, however, which can play well on stage.
Van Orden does have another reason he may be trying to avoid a debate. Van Order has some red flags he’d possibly prefer not to discuss on public debate stage that Democrats have been eagerly bringing to anyone’s attention who will listen such as:
His presence at the January 6th Capitol Riot, although he was not witnessed directly participating in violence or property damage, he was photographed at the Capitol.
Van Orden got into a verbal altercation with a teenage library employee in Prairie du Chein over a gay pride exhibit.
Van Orden bragged about behavior that some consider sexual harassment in his book about his time serving in the military.
Van Orden was fined and remains on probation from when he was caught bringing a loaded handgun onto an airplane.
State Senator Pfaff is undoubtedly dying to discuss these issues on a debate stage. Van Orden on the other hand might prefer to avoid that public flogging and admire his lead in the polls from a cozy seat at home.
Committing to a public debate could simply not be in the best strategic interest of the Van Orden candidacy. Van Orden is perhaps best served in taking his lumps for dodging the debate stage as he has several advantages heading into November:
It is a “red wave” year. History shows that the party that holds The White House typically loses House seats. With Democrat Joe Biden occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., history gives a hat tip to Van Orden in one of very few competitive House races across the U.S.
The 3rd Congressional District has been slowly moving to the political right over years. While there has been a small impact rightward from redistricting, the very rural district has followed national trends that have seen rural voters become more reliably Republican.
As reported by the Associated Press, Trump won this district by 5 points in 2020. Van Orden is a MAGA-style candidate who was endorsed by Trump for this seat back in 2020 and again in 2022 election cycle.
Further, history indicates that 2022 being a Midterm Election with a Democrat in the White House would have a high probability of being a red wave year. Polling has indicated that Van Orden is the frontrunner in the race.
What aspiring Member of Congress would throw their fortunes into the wind by debating their opponent when digging in and keeping your head down is the more prudent strategy?
The 3rd CD covers much of western Wisconsin including Stevens Point, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Platteville and more.
Comments