MOUNT VERNON — A series of four debates have been scheduled between candidates for Ohio’s 18th Congressional District, but incumbent Zack Space will not be participating.
Andrew Ricci, campaign spokesman for Zack Space, stated Space chose not to attend these debates because “they are not conducted by media or educational institutions,” and that he prefers to attend other scheduled debates.
According to Ricci, a schedule of those debates will be released next week although the tentatively no dates are are being scheduled in Knox County.
After declining to participate in similar debates during the primary election, a spokesperson for Space told the News the Congressman would be happy to debate the candidate the Republican Party selected in the primary and that he “looks forward to debating the issues that are important to Ohioans.”
The first debate will take place on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s R.R. Hodges Chapel Auditorium.
Organized by the Ohio 18 Project, a part of the Ohio Liberty Council, the event will feature Republican Party candidate Bob Gibbs and Constitution Party candidate Lindsey Sutton.
“Our goal is to get all of the information possible out to the voter so that they can decide,” said Dan Offineer, Ohio 18 Candidate Night coordinator. Moderator for the evening will be Warren Edstrom, co-organizer for the Knox County Ohio 912 Project, a grassroots group of concerned citizens in Knox County.
Each candidate will be given an opportunity for an opening statement, which will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Those in attendance may ask a question directly to one candidate or in general to each candidate to answer. Closing statements from each candidate will then conclude the debate.
