ST. LOUIS – Former House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Catherine Hanaway has proposed a series of nine Republican primary debates across the state.
“Missouri voters in all corners of the state deserve the opportunity to see and hear where each candidate stands on the issues,” she said in a release Tuesday. “I am calling on my opponents to agree to this debate framework to ensure all Missouri voters will be well-informed about each candidate.”
The debates would occur in major cities in towns across Missouri, ranging from St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield to smaller towns in less populated regions of the state, like Hannibal and Kirksville. They would each last 90 minutes and cover a wide variety of topics.
It also comes after former Nay SEAL Eric Greitens’ campaign, which last week criticized a lack of consensus by the other campaigns as a sign that they were intimidated by Greitens at the Missouri Farm Bureau Forum held last week.
“It’s a shame that the other Republican campaigns won’t agree to the party’s plan for debates,” Austin Chambers, Greitens’ campaign manager said in a press release. “After Eric’s strong performance on Tuesday, it’s understandable, but disappointing, that his opponents prefer fewer debates.”
