BY SANDY THEIS
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- Voters seeking information about this year's crop of candidates for governor can see all four of them tonight in a 90-minute televised debate from Toledo.
Republican Bob Taft, Democrat Lee Fisher, Reform Party nominee John Mitchel and Independent Zanna Feitler, who is endorsed by the Natural Law Party, will field questions from reporters and average voters.
The debate is happening only after Mr. Fisher agreed with Mr. Taft to include the two minor-party candidates.
|
TUNING IN
|
|
C-SPAN and the Ohio News Network plan to carry the debate live, beginning at 7:30 tonight. WCPO-TV (Channel 9) will run the debate at midnight instead of pre-empting Jeopardy and Vengeance Unlimited.
|
It comes as some public opinion polls show about one-third of the likely voters still haven't made up their minds about who they want to succeed Republican George Voinovich. Mr. Voinovich is running for the U.S. Senate.
"The core partisans are the people more likely to watch, but the people most likely to be moved are the people who are undecided," said political scientist Herb Asher.
"The latest public polls suggest that Bob Taft is ahead from 8 to 10 points so this debate becomes an opportunity for Lee Fisher to try and make the case for why voters should support him and not support his opponent."
Seen as important
Both major-party candidates have been preparing for the debates. Their supporters note the importance of the event.
"Bob Taft's goal for these debates is to show Ohio his vision for his term as governor," said Mark Weaver, a Taft campaign consultant. "He'll show his education agenda, his management experience and the goals he wants to achieve over the next four years."
Fisher campaign chairman Alan Melamed described Mr. Fisher's debate challenge this way: "We want the people of Ohio to see that Lee Fisher has the character and leadership abilities to run this state, he has the passion and vision for the future and he has a commitment to helping working families."
Mr. Asher, professor emeritus at Ohio State University, said who is perceived as the winner and loser can affect the race, especially given the large number of undecided voters.
"It's not so much the debates that are important," he said. "It's the media spin that happens after the debates."
High hopes
The pre-debate had its own spin.
Democratic consultant Gerald Austin said the event "may be the most important debate in the history of Ohio gubernatorial politics."
Here's why: "This first debate has taken so long to come together, and it's happening so late in the game, that it's going to be very important."
Mr. Weaver is downplaying its significance.
"People who read the news a lot and keep up with current events watch debates," he said, but viewership of debates is on the decline.
"With VCRs and cable, people are able to choose other shows. It's fair to say, a very small part of the electorate is going to see it."
The debate is co-sponsored by the Toledo Blade and Toledo's ABC-TV affiliate. Most networks have opted not to run it.
Despite lack of interest from the commercial stations, viewership could rise, Mr. Austin said, because of public debate over the accuracy of Mr. Taft's TV commercials.
The Ohio Elections Commission reprimanded the Taft campaign last week for knowingly airing a commercial that contained two lies.
That handed Mr. Fisher an explosive issue, Mr. Austin said.
