Davis Announces Proposal of 10 Dates for Rio Grande Valley Debate

Still ironing out the details of a formal debate, the Wendy Davis campaign on Monday announced 10 potential dates for a Rio Grande Valley appearance against her gubernatorial opponent Greg Abbott.

In a letter sent last week to The Monitor’s executive editor Carlos Sanchez, Davis’ debate representative Chris Turner wrote that the Fort Worth Democrat would like to “quickly resolve” the logistics of a debate for voters in McAllen and the Valley.

Two weeks ago, the Abbott campaign accepted invitations for two debates — one on Sept. 19 in McAllen and another on Oct. 3 in Dallas.

In Davis' latest letter, however, Turner wrote that the campaign must decline the Sept. 19 debate because it falls on The Texas Tribune Festival, to which both candidates were invited and only Davis has accepted.

As for the Oct. 3 date, the Davis campaign is opting for a noon debate in Houston instead of Dallas. The pre-sundown timeframe would respect the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, her campaign said in a release.

“Senator Davis' goal is to speak with and listen to as many Texans as possible in the campaign for governor, so it is our intent to participate in more debates and forums, not fewer,” Turner said in the letter.

A day after the announcement that the Abbott campaign had accepted invitations for the two debates, the Davis campaign offered the idea of having six different debates across Texas. 

The dates listed in her most recent announcement for the Rio Grande Valley debate are September 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 25 and October 6, 7, or 8. 

Representatives from the Abbott campaign could not be reached for immediate comment.