DENVER — Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl declined to debate Democratic Gov. Jared Polis on 9NEWS later this month, her campaign announced Friday.
"The Heidi Ganahl for Governor campaign is declining a debate proposed by Denver’s 9NEWS because of biased reporting by one of the network’s 'non-negotiable moderators,' " the news release said in part.
Ganahl's campaign is correct that 9NEWS does not negotiate debate moderators with any candidate.
Polis had agreed to the Oct. 27 debate that was to take place at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
This marks the first time since 1994 that 9NEWS will not host a gubernatorial debate.
9NEWS had multiple partners for our debate proposals for both the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial debates:
- Colorado Politics
- KRDO (Colorado Springs)
- KKCO (Grand Junction)
- KOBF (Four Corners)
This would have provided broadcast availability of the debate for every county in Colorado.
These are the same partners who will participate in the U.S. Senate debate on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at CSU in Fort Collins featuring Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and Joe O’Dea (R).
9NEWS is hosting an unprecedented number of debates leading up to Election Day on Nov. 8.
The debates begin on Thursday, Oct. 13 with candidates running for the 8th Congressional District (CD8), which covers parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties. The 30-minute debate between Democratic candidate Yadira Caraveo and Republican candidate Barbara Kirkmeyer will air live at 6:30 p.m.
Democratic and Republican candidates running for U.S. Senate, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, Congressional District 7 and CD8 all agreed to debate on 9NEWS.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Politics
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado-specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.