Sen. Mark Warner agrees to debates, forums, insists on including third-party candidate

Today the campaign of Sen. Mark Warner announced his acceptance of eight additional joint public forums with Republican nominee Ed Gillespie, including two televised debates, to discuss the issues most important to Virginians. Warner’s campaign also expressed his support for including Robert Sarvis, the Libertarian Party nominee, in the two additional debates.

These appearances are in addition to the Virginia Bar Association debate, which took place on July 26.

“I look forward to continuing the conversation with Virginians about my commitment to finding commonsense solutions that provide every Virginian with a fair shot at success during these forums in all parts of the Commonwealth,” said Senator Warner. “These forums will provide the opportunity for positive discussions about how we will create jobs in Virginia, reduce our nation’s debt and deficit, and help our students afford a higher education.”

As part of his commitment to reach Virginians in all corners of the Commonwealth, Senator Warner has accepted two debates that will be offered to television affiliates in all media markets. The Oct. 7 Fairfax Chamber of Commerce Debate will be broadcast live on WRC in the Washington market, and will be offered to all NBC affiliates in Virginia, with the potential for Virginians in every media market to have the opportunity to see the candidates debate live on television. Similarly, the Oct. 13 People’s Debate, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and American Association of Retired Persons of Virginia will also be offered by WTVR-TV (CBS) and WCVE-TV (Virginia Public Television) to all of their affiliates. The July 26 Virginia Bar Association debate was streamed live on PBS.com, and was replayed multiple times on C-SPAN.

The nine public forums agreed to thus far are:

Virginia Bar Association Debate (held July 26, pbs livestream)
Fairfax Chamber of Commerce Debate (October 7, Fairfax County)
The People’s Debate, League of Women Voters of Virginia, American Association of Retired Persons of Virginia (October 13, Richmond)
northern virginia Technology Council joint appearance (September 7, Northern Virginia)
Christopher Newport University/Hearsay with Cathy Lewis joint appearance (Date TBD, Hampton Roads)
Central Business District Association joint appearance (Date TBD, Virginia Beach)
Battleground Forum with northern virginia Chambers of Commerce joint appearance (Sept.19, Northern Virginia)
Sorensen Institute/Danville Register & Bee joint appearance (October 14, Danville)
Roanoke Chamber of Commerce joint appearance (Date TBD, Roanoke)

Since January, Senator Warner has held more than 100 open-press events across the Commonwealth to discuss the importance of reaching across the aisle to advance policies that solve problems for Virginia families and provide every Virginian with an opportunity to succeed.