Bring It: Chris Murphy Wants EIGHT Debates

The Murphy campaign suggests 8 debates before a Democratic primary next August. If anything, the Tong and Bysiewicz camps will want more. From the Murphy campaign:

NEW BRITAIN–Chris Murphy’s campaign for Senate today proposed a series of eight debates in advance of the Democratic primary – four before the nominating convention in May and four before the primary election in August.

“Debates are a critical part of the democratic process, and Chris wants the voters of the state to hear directly from the candidates,” said Kenny Curran, Murphy’s campaign manager. “Other candidates have proposed a series of six debates, but we don’t think that’s enough. We think the right number is eight debates, spread out over the remaining six months leading up to the primary.”

The Murphy campaign and other candidates have agreed to debates hosted by the Norwich Bulletin, WVIT, WFSB, and the Courant/WTIC, and a forum with the Quiet Corner Democrats, all to take place between February 23 and the May nominating convention. The Murphy campaign proposes to schedule four additional debates between May and the August primary to be determined by the candidates who qualify for the primary ballot.

In addition, Murphy is asking the debate hosts to be as inclusive as possible. “Whether a candidate is polling at 50% or 1%, we think at this early stage, democracy demands that all candidates get to have their say,” said Curran. “Chris may not agree with what the other candidates have to say, but we just think including everyone is fair. So we’re encouraging the debate hosts to include all six candidates in their formats.”