Donald Rainwater will participate in two debates, but has been denied access to the first debate by out-of-state TV station ownership
Donald Rainwater has captivated Hoosier voters with his simple message of providing Better Government, not Bigger Government for Indiana.
He has done it so well, he beat one of the two major party candidate in 33 of Indiana’s 92 counties and received the highest vote percentage for any Libertarian running in a statewide race in 2020.
Not surprisingly, the two old party candidates are fearful of Hoosier voters hearing Rainwater’s message, and many mainstream media outlets have long ignored candidates from the Libertarian Party and other parties challenging the duopoly.
So, when Nexstar Media hosts the first gubernatorial “debate” on Oct. 2, voters will be deprived of hearing from one of their choices, as Rainwater was not invited due to the network’s arbitrary national criteria, clearly designed to limit debate participation to Republicans and Democrats.
“This is a slap in the face of Hoosier voters, who deserve to hear from all of their choices in any debate or forum,” Libertarian Party of Indiana chair Evan McMahon said. “In Indiana, we have a tradition of featuring every candidate on the ballot on the debate stage.. However, an out-of-state company is again refusing to honor that tradition, instead relying on arbitrary criteria set by their corporate office that is purposely designed to limit participation of third party candidates.”
Until recently, nearly all debates were hosted by the Indiana Debate Commission or the League of Women Voters. Nexstar Media recently began hosting debates through its two Indianapolis television stations, and requires fundraising and polling thresholds that are intentionally set at levels difficult to achieve for third-party candidates, and as a result, has excluded the Libertarian candidate in a statewide race for two successive elections.
One of those criteria was a $100,000 fundraising threshold, which Rainwater reached in June. The other was a 10% minimum polling threshold. While Rainwater eclipsed 10% in the 2020 general election, that was not enough for the television station.
Fortunately, Hoosier voters have other options to see all three candidates present their case to voters. The next evening, WISH-TV will host a debate at 6 p.m. Oct. 3 featuring Rainwater and his two opponents, which will air on WISH in Indianapolis, as well as on stations in Chicago, Louisville, Lafayette, Terre Haute, South Bend, Fort Wayne and Evansville.
The Indiana Debate Commission – which has included all candidates on the ballot in every debate since its formation in 2007 – will also host a debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 24, which will be broadcast by WFYI in Indianapolis and a statewide network of radio and TV stations.
“Votes are earned, not given, and Hoosiers deserve to hear from every candidate seeking to earn their votes,” McMahon said. “We call on Hoosiers to pressure Nexstar to invite all candidates and to boycott the Oct. 2 debate if all of the candidates are not invited to appear on the stage. But we also encourage everyone to watch the Oct. 3 and Oct. 24 debates that will feature all of the candidates who are vying to earn your vote. We believe Donald Rainwater’s message will again resonate with Indiana voters, and you deserve to hear that message and compare it with the messages of his opponents.”