Des Moines, IA – Combat aviator and U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) released the following statement after voting early this morning on the first day of early voting in Iowa and accepting a KCCI debate with Sarah Trone Garriott on October 27.
“Over a month ago, I said yes to six debates on four stations, all before early voting, so I’m disappointed that Sarah Trone Garriott said no to all of them,” said Rep. Zach Nunn. “It’s critical Iowans hear from both candidates, especially before they cast their ballots. Early voting started today, and Trone Garriott still hasn’t said yes. She said she’s completely booked until October 27, but she’s found time to fundraise outside Iowa. So I’m asking one more time: let’s debate now, tomorrow, or on October 27. The time for Iowans to hear from us is now.”
Nunn accepted KCCI’s target dates of October 16 and October 20 at the beginning of September, then added October 14 and October 21 so Iowans could hear from both candidates before or in the first week of early voting. He also accepted debates with WHO 13 and Iowa PBS for any date through October 21.
After more than a month of dodging a debate, the Trone Garriott campaign turned down every one of those dates and told KCCI and the Nunn campaign that the earliest she could debate was October 27, two weeks after Iowans start voting. By that point in the 2024 cycle, more than 124,000 3rd District voters had already cast their ballot. Every other candidate for governor, U.S. Senate and Congress in Iowa accepted a debate before early voting started.
Trone Garriott claimed her schedule was full. Yet, as the Daily Signal reported, she has found time to fundraise in Chicago and is headlining a Dallas County fundraiser with tickets of up to $3,500 on October 21, one of the nights she said she couldn’t debate.
Nunn has now accepted October 27 under KCCI’s standard format, the same format the station has used for a decade: no notes on stage and no questions shared in advance. The Trone Garriott campaign has yet to agree to those rules.
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