Mark Warner will not be playing rope-a-dope through the rest of the Senate campaign, as the incumbent has now agreed [1] to two additional debates and a series of “joint appearances” with Ed Gillespie:
…the candidates will square off in two more televised debates: on Oct. 7 in Fairfax County and on Oct. 13 in Richmond.
They also agreed to four joint appearances: two in Northern Virginia in September, one in Danville in October and another that has yet to be scheduled.
Fair enough. But there’s also this twist [2]:
Warner’s campaign also expressed his support for including Robert Sarvis, the Libertarian Party nominee, in the two additional debates.
“Virginians deserve an independent voice in the debates,” said Sarvis. He had accused both his opponents in colluding to keep him out of the debates.
In a statement Sarvis said, “It’s better late than never for Mark Warner to support a real debate among all the candidates on the ballot … I hope my Republican opponent Ed Gillespie will prove willing to defend his record as well.”
Warner, obviously, is baiting the Gillespie camp with Sarvis. Not that the Libertarian will be included in the debates — typically, debate hosts set very high bars for candidates to be included in their festivities. But it’s shrewd for Warner to make the move — nevermind that he is merely “supportive” as opposed to demanding or merely requesting Sarvis be on the dais.