DAVIDSON — While most of the attention as to who will fill the seat soon to be vacated by Sen. Richard Burr is focused on the two main party candidates, the two third party candidates will square off later this month.
The Libertarian Party of North Carolina announced Tuesday that the Mecklenburg County chapter will host a Third Party U.S. Senate Candidate Forum at Davidson College from 7-9 p.m. Sept. 15.
Attendees will be able to hear from Libertarian candidate Shannon Bray and the Green Party’s Matthew Hoh.
According to his campaign website, Bray is a Louisiana native and Navy veteran now living in Apex and working for the Department of Defense. He is an expert in information technology, specializing in cybersecurity and has written several books on tech topics.
Hoh is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and has lived in North Carolina most of his life, according to his website. He served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but resigned in protest in 2009 “over the American escalation of the war,” according to his site.
Attendees of the forum will also be able to meet the candidates a half-hour prior to the structured debate. The moderator will be WBT radio host Pete Kaliner.
The forum will be held in David and Pam Sprinkle Room on the fourth floor of the Alvarez College Union Building on Davidson’s campus.
The N.C. State Board of Elections recently re-recognized the Green Party in August — a month after the candidate filing deadline — as reported by the Carolina Journal.
Democrat groups had attempted to block Green Party candidates from the ballot, but that effort was shot down by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Republican Rep. Ted Budd, who visited Richmond County in April, defeated 13 candidates, including former N.C. governor Pat McCrory in the primary — despite not showing up to any of the debates.
Former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley won the Democratic primary. She also recently visited Richmond County but the RO was not present.
The N.C. Democratic Party on Tuesday issued a press release chiding Budd for his apparent absence: “North Carolinians deserve to hear from Ted Budd. Will he continue to hide from them or will he finally show up and debate?”
According to WGHP, Beasely’s campaign announced Aug. 25 she would be participating in a Senate debate in October sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters. However, the television station reported that Budd’s communications director said there would be no announcement made until after Labor Day.
WGHP also reported that it wasn’t clear if Bray or Hoh will be there or for what date the debate is scheduled.
Last month, Bray posted on Twitter a copy of a letter inviting him to a debate scheduled for Oct. 17 at the WNCN studios in Raleigh. The debate will air in all North Carolina markets with a Nextar Media station — including WGHP. According to the letter: “This is the largest commercial station statewide coverage available.”
The RO could not immediately confirm if Hoh has been invited to that debate.
