Politics
Edward Longe: In defense of the debate
On September 26, 1960, at CBS studios in Chicago, Illinois, Sen. John F. Kennedy debated Vice President Richard Nixon in the first televised presidential debate.
Nixon, pale and sweating after recovering from a staph infection, is widely considered to have hurt his campaign that night. As the front-runner in 1968 and 1972, Nixon later refused to debate Hubert Humphrey or George McGovern, recognizing the power a debate performance can have on voting outcomes. Debates did not return until Gerald Ford debated Jimmy Carter in 1976.
While presidential debates took a hiatus between 1960 and 1976, they have since grown into a cornerstone of American elections, with candidates up and down the electoral stack taking the stage to outline their agendas for voters. Despite the power these public events can hold, candidates across the country have turned against debates, including here in Florida, with gubernatorial candidate David Jolly refusing to debate Byron Donalds and Sen. Ashley Moody refusing to debate Angie Nixon.
Skipping debates may be a smart strategy for candidates seeking to capitalize on positive momentum. Still, the Primary losers are voters who miss a critical opportunity to learn about candidates’ visions for their community’s future. Unlike speeches or podcasts, a debate is the one format where a rival is in the room to answer back, and the candidate is often forced to face an audience that reflects the broader electorate, not just their supporters.
The candidate debate offers something no other political interaction can. On a podcast, the host picks the questions and rarely presses on dodged questions. A friendly interview can be curated around a candidate’s strengths and an opponent’s weaknesses. Candidates have little incentive to step out of their comfort zone and go on a hostile podcast, knowing challenging questions are inevitable.
At a debate, however, when the opponent is on the same stage, debaters have every incentive to penalize a weak answer while the live audience watches. Thirty seconds of live debate can tell voters more than an hour of friendly conversation.
Candidates skipping debates is also a question of competition. Voters lose the chance to watch a candidate defend a position on property insurance or data centers against someone who can offer a powerful rebuttal or alternative vision. The reality is that candidates are asking voters for a job, and no one hiring lets the applicant choose the interviewer.
Those who understand markets know the consequences of shielding a producer from rivals: quality falls, and the customer bears the cost.
Skeptics of debates have a fair point about their politicization. Unless debates are properly managed, they can easily turn into theatre and offer voters little factual information; but that’s a case for reform, not just abandoning them. Neutral hosts and terms agreed upon in advance would answer the most serious question surrounding debates and prevent candidates from simply running out the clock with slogans.
TV stations also have more power to hold candidates to account. When both candidates refuse to participate, stations will often cancel. They should hold the debate instead and leave the podium empty, a reminder to the electorate that one candidate was willing to stand before voters and the other was not, as the Atlanta Press Club did in December 2020 when Sen. David Perdue skipped his runoff debate with Jon Ossoff. Perdue lost the runoff a month later.
Nixon sweated in 1960, and Americans learned something about him and his ability to handle pressure. If Jolly’s and Moody’s decision not to debate holds, Florida voters may not get that chance this year.
Florida voters will learn something about the candidates, but only what the candidates choose to show them.
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Dr. Edward Longe is the Director of National Strategy and the Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at The James Madison Institute in Tallahassee.
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