Snyder, Schauer to hold ‘town hall’ debate on Oct. 12

LANSING – Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and Democratic challenger Mark Schauer will debate live on TV in advance of the Nov. 4 election under a “town hall” format, Detroit Public Television is announcing today.

The Oct. 12 debate in Detroit will be held in front of a live audience of “undecided” voters identified by pollsters for the two daily newspapers.

Stephen Henderson, the editorial page editor of the Free Press, and Nolan Finley, the editorial page editor of The Detroit News, are to moderate the one-hour event. The site of the 6 p.m. debate, which is to feature a relatively unrestricted format, has yet to be determined.

Christy McDonald, who anchors special coverage at WTVS Detroit Public TV, will introduce and close the debate and field questions from the live audience.

“We congratulate both men for taking this step, which is so important to voters and to the democratic process,” said Paul Anger, editor and publisher of the Free Press.

“We’re looking forward to a robust discussion on issues important to the future of Michigan.”

Until recently, progress on holding a gubernatorial debate appeared to be at an impasse, with Schauer’s campaign more eager to debate than Snyder’s campaign was. The two newspapers moderated negotiations between the camps that led to today’s announcement.

Earlier, the governor pointed to a joint appearance planned in front of the Detroit Economic Club on Oct. 13 and on Wednesday announced a series of 10 “town hall” meetings in a move some analysts believed shut the door on a gubernatorial debate.

Most recent polls show Snyder and Schauer in close to a statistical dead heat, with several showing Snyder with a small lead, two showing Schauer slightly ahead, and one poll released today showing an exact tie. Nearly all the polls show a gap between the candidates that is within the polls’ margins of error.

In 2010, Snyder and his Democratic opponent, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, held one debate.

In 2006, then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, held three televised debates with Republican challenger Dick DeVos.

Snyder’s apparent change of heart on debating Schauer came after pundits and at least one prominent Republican questioned his campaign strategy.

John Truscott, president of the Lansing public relations firm Truscott Rossman, who was press secretary to former Republican Gov. John Engler, on Friday posted on Facebook a link to a column criticizing Snyder campaign tactics

“Pretty good summary of how many are feeling about the campaign right now,” Truscott posted. “It's not too late to actually have a winning strategy.”

The column, by Inside Michigan Politics Publisher Susan Demas, criticized Snyder campaign tactics and said “he’s risking alieanating voters in a race that’s neck-and-neck” by appearing to be too smug, including his refusal to debate.

Truscott told the Free Press Friday his main concern was that the Snyder campaign or a third-party surrogate had not moved more quickly “to define Schauer before he defined himself,” while at the same time “they allowed Schauer to define the governor a little bit.”

Still, Truscott said he expected the campaign would “get it turned around in very short order.”

Though Demas leans left, Finley, who is conservative, has also criticized the Snyder campaign.

Paul Egan is a reporter for the Detroit Free Press