Why Some Wyoming Candiates Refuse To Debate

Recently, James Byrd, Democrat candidate for Senate to represent the state of Wyoming, complained that Harriet Hageman, the GOP candidate, would not debate her.

Rebecca Baxtel, the Constitution Party candidate for Governor of the state of Wyoming, sat alone on a stage because her opponents did not show up.

Some years back, Rod Miller, known for left-leaning commentary in the state of Wyoming, was running for Congress, and he complained that Liz Cheney would not even acknowledge him, much less debate him.

I'm sure we would all like to see these candidates debate. But when we look at why some don't, it makes sense.

Let's say that you are running a race for some office and you look to see where your opposing candidate is. They are so far behind you can't even see them in your rearview mirror. In that case, don't acknowledge them. Don't ever mention their name. Don't show up to debate them. Why would you give them the attention that they can't get without your help?

The best strategy is to run a positive campaign and pretend that you are the only candidate in the race. Those other candidates will only fall farther and farther behind.

The more the other candidates fall behind, the more desperate they will become, and they will soon start running a negative race to beat you. Perfect! That will turn most people off.

Let's test this.

There are 4 candidates running for the House of Representatives for Wyoming. Without looking them up, can you name them all?

Who's running for Senate? There is more than one.

Can you name all of the candidates in the general election for Governor of Wyoming?  There are 3 of them, in case you did not know that.

It sucks to be the unknown candidate, and the lead candidate intends to keep it that way.