McMahon, Shays Will Participate in the Final Debate Before the Aug. 14 Primary

Republican U.S. Senate candidates Christopher Shays and Linda McMahon will meet Wednesday night at their final televised debate before the Aug. 14 primary.

The one-hour debate, hosted by NBC Connecticut 30 and broadcast live from its West Hartford studio, will begin at 7 p.m.

The Shays campaign, which doesn’t have the budget to match what the multimillionaire McMahon is spending on her campaign,  had pressed for far more face-to-face meetings.

“This was only the second debate Linda McMahon was willing to have one-on-one with Chris,” said Shays spokeswoman Amanda Bergen. The other debates also included candidates Kie Westby, Brian K. Hill and Peter Lumaj, who are no longer seeking to become the Republican nominee.

“Considering she won’t meet with newspaper [editorial] boards, she won’t do debates and she won’t release her tax returns, what does she have to hide?” Bergen asked.

The McMahon camp says the two candidates have participated in six forums since the campaign cycle began. “I think [six] is a suitable number,” said McMahon spokesman Tim Murtaugh. “We view that our time is spent wisely when it’s spent talking to voters.”

McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, won the endorsement of delegates to the Republican convention in May, but Shays, a former congressman from Connecticut’s Fourth District, met the threshold for a primary challenge. They are both seeking the Senate seat being vacated by Joseph Lieberman.