DES MOINES, Iowa – After days of Chuck Grassley refusing to give reporters a straight answer on his decision to back out of the scheduled Iowa Public Television debate, he has made it clear that he doesn't make those decisions, and that his campaign staff is solely empowered to negotiate debates.
After Grassley’s suggestion Wednesday that there’s the potential for a third debate, the Judge campaign thinks it’s imperative that the two campaigns sit down to finalize a debate schedule that gives all Iowans an opportunity to make an informed decision. In order to do so, Patty Judge’s campaign has invited Grassley’s campaign manager, Bob Haus, or whoever is authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Grassley campaign, to attend a debate discussion this afternoon in Des Moines.
The Judge campaign has reserved space at Smokey Row, 1910 Cottage Grove Ave, Des Moines, IA at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, October 6th, and has extended an invitation to Grassley’s campaign to meet and discuss debates. Judge Campaign Manager Joe Fox and Deputy Campaign Manager Sam Roecker will be available to negotiate debates with representatives from the Grassley campaign.
As it currently stands, the only televised debate will take place on October 19th and excludes the Des Moines and Davenport media markets. Until last Friday, Grassley had agreed to and repeatedly promoted an October 20th statewide, televised debate on Iowa Public Television.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to finalize a debate schedule that gives all Iowans an opportunity to see the candidates in live, televised debates,” said Patty Judge Spokesperson Sam Roecker. “We hope the Grassley campaign will accept our offer to meet with us, set a debate schedule, and move on to talking about the issues that matter to Iowans. While this is not a Dairy Queen, Smokey Row has pretty good milkshakes.”
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