With less than two weeks until Election Day, most statewide debates have come and gone. Democrats tried to paint their Republican opponents into corners over loyalty to President Donald Trump, and Republicans tried to stake out nuanced positions on the Iran war and data centers.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we learned from the more than two dozen statewide candidate debates that occurred \u2014 and from those that didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Republicans walk a fine line with an unpopular Trump<\/h5>\n
In debate after debate, Democrats tried to tie their opponents to the unpopular president. Republicans weren\u2019t always willing to let them.<\/p>\n
Several candidates \u2014 especially in blue states \u2014 were willing to break with the president. In New Hampshire, GOP former Sen. John Sununu said he\u2019s \u201cnever met President Trump\u201d and emphasized he\u2019s \u201cnever hesitated to stand up to my party or the president when they’re wrong,\u201d specifically criticizing Trump\u2019s policies on trade, Iran and Ukraine. In Minnesota, Republican Senate nominee Michelle Tafoya said she disagreed with Trump\u2019s tariff policy and immigration enforcement, and when asked if she would appear onstage with Trump, she demurred. \u201cI am talking to Minnesotans. Theirs is the only endorsement that I care about,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In Maine, GOP Sen. Susan Collins emphasized that she has voted against the president more than 100 times this year, and criticized his approach on Iran. Bobby Charles, the GOP nominee for governor and a former official in President George W. Bush\u2019s State Department during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, said he disagreed with Trump\u2019s \u201cextended engagement\u201d in Iran because \u201cI know what it means to get stuck in a place.\u201d<\/p>\n
$\"Sen.$ <\/p>\n
Some Republicans became frustrated by their opponents’ efforts to tie them to the president. \u201cHe wants to make this about Donald Trump,\u201d said former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) \u201cThe bingo game ought to be, how many times can he put the word \u2018Trump\u2019 in any answer that he has given in the last, whatever, 30 minutes? It\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
But in some redder states, candidates were more willing to hug the president \u2014 recognizing support from his base will be critical to win<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the Trump voters to come out,\u201d Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said in a debate Wednesday. \u201cJust like with my wife, I can disagree with her. Now, my wife is always right, and President Trump is not always right. But I do think that it’s great that I have a relationship that I can pick up the phone and discuss with him the pros and cons of what he’s contemplating.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the economy, stupid<\/h5>\n
Democrats hammered Republicans on affordability issues, blaming Trump\u2019s tariff policy and Iran for spiking prices. In response, a few conceded some Trump policies were hurting them \u2014 while others tried to blame the last president.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Bidenomics, that Green New Deal that my opponent voted for, that\u2019s where all this inflation came from,\u201d said Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) in a Senate debate in early October.<\/p>\n
The other Collins, Susan, went the opposite way in blue-leaning Maine. \u201cThe bottom line is Troy and I both would have voted against the Canadian tariffs,\u201d she said in an October 13 debate, after saying the Iran war was \u201cnot well thought out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rep. Ashley Hinson, the GOP nominee for Senate in Iowa, said she would pause the gasoline tax before acknowledging the effect of the war: “I trust in our U.S. military, the greatest fighting force in the world, to bring this to a close as quickly as possible, because I know people are being squeezed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
$\"Senate$ <\/p>\n
Democrats largely sang the same tune on Trump\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese tariffs are crushing our state, and we’ll repeal those tariffs,\u201d said Sen. John Ossoff (D-Ga.).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tariffs and the war in Iran has hurt Iowa more than any other state,\u201d said state Rep. Josh Turek (D-Iowa).<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you appreciate having record diesel fuel prices \u2026 then I’d say vote for Roger Marshall,\u201d said Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee running for Senate in Kansas. \u201cIf you want change, then I’d like to ask you to vote for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone hates data centers<\/h5>\n
Republicans and Democrats showed a remarkable similarity in their distaste for data centers even as their specific policy prescriptions diverged \u2014 a sign of the issue\u2019s rapid ascent as a bipartisan bogeyman, even as Trump reiterates his support for them.<\/p>\n
Candidates from both parties called for local control. \u201cLook, if you don’t want a data center, I will stand up and defend it and make sure you don’t get it,\u201d said Rick Jackson, a Republican billionaire businessman running for Georgia governor. \u201cLocal communities know best,\u201d said Hinson, the Iowa Republican.<\/p>\n
In Maine, both Senate candidates said guardrails should be installed to prevent the data centers from raising utility rates for local residents. In Iowa, both gubernatorial candidates \u2014 Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn \u2014 supported ending tax breaks for data center developers. In New Hampshire, both Senate candidates agreed with GOP Gov. Kelly Ayotte\u2019s push for a statewide moratorium.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, it’s up to our governor, our local leaders, to make decisions about any big infrastructure, transmission, power plants, new factories, and data centers should be treated just the same,\u201d Sununu said.<\/p>\n
Gaffe gamechangers<\/h5>\n
Debates can do candidates more harm than good, and some candidates had some cringey moments.<\/p>\n
In Alaska, Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola appeared to be reading from a notecard throughout a recent debate, giving her opponent, GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, a chance to pounce. “We weren’t supposed to get these questions beforehand, were we?” he asked the moderator.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t cue-card your way through the Senate,\u201d Sullivan later wrote<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n
Sullivan had his own moment a few weeks earlier when he peeked at Peltola\u2019s answer during a lightning-round question, prompting laughter from the audience. \u201cHappy to help, Dan,\u201d Peltola wrote on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n
$\"Democrat$ <\/p>\n
In Kansas, Marshall faced loud chats of \u201cyou don\u2019t live here\u201d during a debate at the state fair, while speaking about his residence in Kansas and his home in Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n
In Maine, Jackson said Collins should \u201cshut up\u201d after a protester interrupted the debate and Collins claimed the demonstrator was \u201cobviously one of Troy’s supporters.”<\/p>\n
“Oh, shut up,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI don’t even know that kid.” Collins has pounced on the moment to try to paint Jackson as a sexist hothead; Jackson later said<\/a> he did not regret his outburst.<\/p>\n
In Iowa, Hinson responded to a question about ensuring the solvency of Social Security by slamming young people\u2019s saving habits<\/a>. \u201cWe also need to be talking about millennials saving money,\u201d she said. \u201cMillennials are the worst group of savers in the country right now and have the least amount of savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The debates that didn\u2019t happen<\/h5>\n
Fear of gaffes may have cost voters a chance to see their candidates square off, as the longstanding political tradition of campaign debates took another hit this cycle.<\/p>\n
In Senate battlegrounds across the country, nominees in both parties outright refused to join their opponents onstage or carefully ducked debates.<\/p>\n
In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton rebuffed invitation after invitation (including one from Fox News), even after Trump urged him to get onstage. In Ohio, the Senate candidates still haven\u2019t reached an agreement to debate. In North Carolina, there is no debate scheduled between the major-party Senate candidates for the first time in nearly 30 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n
There doesn\u2019t seem to be a partisan division over who will and won\u2019t debate. Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Ohio Democratic nominee Amy Acton refused to debate their opponents. So did GOP Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who have rebuffed invitations to debate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much difference between us, I mean, there\u2019s no reason to get up there and argue about differences of opinion,\u201d Tuberville, running for Alabama governor against Democratic former Sen. Doug Jones, told reporters<\/a> in August.<\/p>\n
Andrew Howard, Jason Beeferman, Lisa Kashinsky, Aaron Pellish, Alec Hernandez, Erin Doherty and Jessica Piper contributed reporting.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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