PARKERSBURG - A candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in West Virginia is going to ask the incumbent to debate.
Debates bring the campaign to the grassroots level, unlike the "big money" spent on TV ads, Democrat Sue Thorn said.
"It's wonderful for people to see the candidates talk about issues that are important," Thorn said.
Thorn on Tuesday was in Parkersburg where she met with members of the National Association of Letters Carriers about the postal service's plans to economize and become more efficient by closing facilities around the nation, including in Parkersburg and West Virginia. The financial calamity was created by Congress by requiring the postal service pay employee pensions 75 years in advance, of which no other organization is required, she said.
"If it wasn't for that, there wouldn't be a problem," she said.
A request soon will be sent to the McKinley camp for a debate, Thorn said.
The McKinley campaign neither said it would or would not debate.
"There is a time and place for campaigning, but until then our time is best spent fighting to protect jobs in the district and the Obama administration's war on coal," said James Forbes, a spokesman for McKinley said.
Thorn said she has no conditions, other than the organizer be unaffiliated with any candidate or party. She has informally discussed debates with representatives of non-aligned organizations, such as the League of Women Voters.
"To see who might be interested," Thorn said.
The debate could be held in Parkersburg, Morgantown, Wheeling, Clarksburg or Fairmont, the larger cities in the district, Thorn said.
Thorn said she has raised about $75,000 in her campaign. McKinley in April prior to the primary election has a warchest of more than $1.5 million.
McKinley, a former state legislator and chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, was elected to the 1st Congressional District in 2010 in a hotly contested campaign with Michael Oliverio, who was a state senator from Morgantown. Oliverio, who was in the state Senate, considered running again, but decided against it.
