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Capitol View®
Tom Scheck

Johnson settles for fewer debates than Dayton offers

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After initially calling for 13 debates Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson said today he has agreed to five forums with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton.

Dayton was willing to do six debates, and it's unusual for a challenger to settle for fewer face-to-face meetings than an incumbent offers.

The debate Dayton agreed to that Johnson rejected was one sponsored by MPR News at the Fitzgerald Theater on the Sunday before the election.

Johnson campaign adviser Gregg Peppin said Johnson decided to opt out of the MPR debate after Dayton’s campaign would not agree to a seventh debate on KSTP-TV.

“We just felt that this is one we couldn’t do,” Peppin said.

MPR has hosted the traditional “final debate” at the Fitzgerald Theater since 1998.

Last month when Dayton declined to debate Johnson on MPR News at the State Fair, Johnson accused the governor of ducking debates. And he suggested he would agree to the governor's offer of six debates.

“At the end of the day, if he’s only going to show up for six, we’re only going to do six,” Johnson said on the first day of the Fair.

Dayton campaign manager, Katharine Tinucci said today the governor has agreed to five debates Johnson wants and is still committed to appearing at the MPR News debate.

“We would still do the MPR debate,” Tinucci said. “We have accepted the invite, and we are not going back on that.”

In an e-mail to Peppin, Tinucci said the Dayton campaign was disappointed with Johnson’s decision to reduce the number of debates to five.

Here are the debates that Johnson and Dayton have scheduled:

Coalition of Greater MN Cities/Rochester Post-Bulletin/Rochester Chamber of Commerce -Wednesday, October 1, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Rochester

Forum News Service/WDAY TV -Wednesday, October 8, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Moorhead

Duluth News Tribune/Duluth Chamber of Commerce- Tuesday, October 14, Duluth, 8:00 a.m., Duluth

KMSP/FOX 9, Hamline University- Sunday, October 19, 9:00-10:00 a.m., St. Paul

TPT/Almanac- Friday, October 31, 7:00-8:00 p.m., St. Paul