By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA
roarty@politicspa.com

Dan Onorato on Monday publicly challenged his GOP gubernatorial opponent Tom Corbett to a series of 14 debates before November’s election, an unusually high number of appearances for the two men but something the Democratic candidate nonetheless said was necessary to give voters an informed choice.

But the demand, made during a conference call with reporters, was not well-received by Corbett’s campaign, which said the debate request should have been made in private and was indicative of a opponent running an already faltering race.

Onorato’s challenge comes after both men ran primary campaigns littered with more than 30 gubernatorial forums and debates, a never-ending deluge of events that focused on topics like education funding and government reform.  Those forums were a success, the Democrat said, and the general election campaign should be held to the same standard to ensure both men describe how they will help stave off the state’s looming fiscal crisis.

“I believe Pennsylvania voters deserve a great public conversation about who has the vision to address these and other issues,” said Onorato.

At least two debates would be held in each of the state’s media markets, under Onorato’s proposal, and would occur between August and November. The gubernatorial hopeful said he didn’t have a preference for format as long as it “would allow us to get our views out and to show the differences on where the two of us want to move the commonwealth.”

Fourteen debates is an unusually high number for any race, which typically have at most three. The contest between Republican GOP candidate Lynn Swann and then-incumbent Ed Rendell featured three debates.

A Corbett spokesman acknowledged his candidate will agree to some debates but chided the Democrat for making the request public.

“There will be debates,” said spokesman Kevin Harley. “However, the number of debates, the dates, locations, sponsoring organizations, and formats will be determined by negotiations between the campaigns, not by media stunts by our opponent as witnessed today.”

Requesting an extraordinary number of debates is an oft-used tactic by underdog candidates, who either benefit from the increases exposure the events receive or, if the request is refused, can criticize their opponent for ducking them. Onorato’s demand is also indicative of a campaign that, seeming to sense it must make up ground on the attorney general, has started very aggressively since the primary ended.

A Rasmussen Reports poll released at the beginning of June showed Corbett with a 16-point lead, 49 percent to 33 percent, although other surveys seen as less Republican-leaning have yet to be taken. Last week, Corbett reported a three-to-one cash-on-hand advantage over his Democratic rival, although the Allegheny County executive has raised more money since the primary.

Harley said Onorato’s challenge shows it faces a difficult challenge against Corbett.

“Typically this is what you see with a candidate trailing badly in polls and badly in fundraising … who pulls a media stunt to gain attention,” said the spokesman.