Margaret Good demands debate with Congressman Vern Buchanan. A date has been set
With less than a month before early voting starts, state Rep. Margaret Good is demanding an opportunity to debate U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan.
Good, D-Sarasota, wrote a letter to Buchanan Monday, citing Buchanan’s refusal to attend a number of debates hosted by local organizations.
“Accountability and transparency are the cornerstones of a functioning democracy, yet, to date, you have been unwilling to engage in any debates,” Good wrote.
“It is disappointing to see you, a seven-term sitting Congressman, so unwilling to answer to his constituents,” she continued. “Frankly, I believe the voters deserve better and that is one of the reasons I am running to unseat you.”
According to Max Goodman, Buchanan’s campaign manager, the campaign has agreed to attend a debate hosted by Manatee Educational Television on Oct. 23, four days after early voting begins.
“It’s interesting that Margaret goes the whole year without talking about issues and now wants to debate while Vern is in Washington doing his job. We will have a debate just like we have done every election,” Goodman said in a statement provided to the Bradenton Herald on Wednesday afternoon.
“We hope Margaret will accept as well so that voters will see the clear difference between a congressman who has passed 22 bipartisan bills into law and an opponent with no accomplishments,” he added.
But Good’s campaign wasn’t invited to that event until Wednesday afternoon, said Alex Koren, Good’s campaign manager.
“We’re glad to hear that Mr. Buchanan is now interesting in debating after being called out,” Koren wrote in a statement. “Rep. Good is willing to debate anytime, anywhere and hold Vern accountable for voting to gut Social Security and Medicare and cutting in line to get millions in PPP money while local businesses struggled.”
Oct. 23 is the same date in 2018 that Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, sat down for an in-person debate with Democratic nominee David Shapiro. It was the only debate between the candidates.
In 2020, with voters choosing to vote by mail in record numbers because of COVID-19 concerns, an earlier debate would allow voters an opportunity to hear directly from candidates before casting their ballots.
Good’s demand came just one day after her campaign launched an attack ad highlighting Buchanan’s “years of duplicity.” The ad accuses Buchanan of funneling campaign funds to his own businesses and accepting PPP loans.
In response, Buchanan’s campaign released their own advertisement calling out Good’s “hypocrisy,” noting that the law firm she works for also received federal loans because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Margaret Good’s shameless hypocrisy will backfire because voters hate politicians who say one thing and do another,” Goodman said in a prepared statement. “She attacks Vern over PPP yet secretly hides the fact that her high-priced law firm – Eastmoore Crauwels & DuBose — also received federal PPP funds.”
Both candidates are running to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District, which includes all of Manatee County and parts of Sarasota and Hillsborough counties. Election Day is Nov. 3.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 4:18 PM.
