How Tuesday’s debate will shape US Senate race
NASHVILLE – As polls continue to show a tight race between U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn and former Gov. Phil Bredesen, Tuesday’s debate at Cumberland University will offer the Republican and Democratic nominees for U.S. Senate an opportunity to make their case to voters.
It will also pit a candidate who has not debated in at least 16 years but has made regular national TV appearances against someone who has been in dozens of debates since first running for office in Tennessee decades ago.
For political insiders, Tuesday’s event is the most anticipated debate in Tennessee politics since Bob Corker and former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. squared off three times in 2006.
And just like the Corker-Ford race, this year’s campaign between Blackburn and Bredesen has high stakes, as national interests have descended into the state while Republicans seek to maintain control of the Senate.
The debate will also provide the two candidates — who, since entering the race, have only shared a stage at the same time once — an opportunity to go on the offensive and showcase the differences between them.
As he’s campaigned, Bredesen has criticized Blackburn for co-sponsoring a bill that some said hamstrung the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Blackburn, meanwhile, has tried to tie Bredesen to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“Inevitably in debates, you try to put your opponent on the defensive,” said Vanderbilt University political science professor Bruce Oppenheimer. “The winner is usually the person who can put their opponent on the defensive but how you do that without going overboard — it’s a little bit of a balancing act.”
Oppenheimer said candidates can separate themselves in both overt and subtle ways. When Corker and Ford debated in Nashville in 2006, Oppenheimer said he remembers the Republican and former Chattanooga mayor talking about his wife and family. Ford wasn’t married at the time.
“(Corker) talked about that on some
Live on all six sites of the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, including CommercialAppeal.com issues,” Oppenheimer said. “I think it was to soften sort of the hard Republican image that he might have otherwise.”
Oppenheimer said candidates often try to connect with voters by showing how much they are like the viewer.
Blackburn taps debate consultant
To prepare for Tuesday’s debate, the campaigns have seemingly taken different approaches.
Blackburn’s campaign hired Brett O’Donnell, a nationally recognized GOP debate coach who has helped Republican presidential candidates, including President George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, John McCain and Michele Bachmann, prepare for debates.
During the 2008 presidential election, Time Magazine named O’Donnell one of the “Five Most Important People Not Running For President.” O’Donnell’s biography boasts of him being described as the “best political debate coach” in the country.
Blackburn’s campaign has downplayed O’Donnell’s work, saying he has largely helped with logistics and planning.
Campaign spokeswoman Abbi Sigler declined to say how the congressman is preparing for the debate but said, “Marsha looks forward to debating Phil Bredesen and discussing their significant differences.”
In an interview, Bredesen said he prefers not to use any debate coaches because they can “turn you into this caricature of a politician.”
“I’ve done (debates) enough and I’m confident enough that I don’t need somebody to pat me on the back and tell me I can do it or something like that,” he said.
Bredesen’s last debate came in 2006, when he squared off against Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Bryson three times in the lead up to the general election.
During the 2002 general election, Bredesen participated in three general election debates, one of which was only broadcast on radio, against Republican nominee Van Hilleary.
Bredesen also participated in dozens of debates and forums in primary races and when he was running for Nashville mayor.
With an eye on Tuesday’s debate, Bredesen said he views the event as an opportunity to persuade a handful of voters.
“It’s a chance to see candidates in the raw where it’s not a TV commercial you shot four times before you got it right,” he said. “I think it helps to lessen the distance a little bit between the voter and the candidate and see people in an unscripted situation.”
Bredesen said he would not take the debate for granted.
“Since we only have two, I can’t have a disastrous first one,” he said.
Bredesen brings debate experience, Blackburn has TV, national speaking exposure
Bredesen’s breadth of debate experience is a stark contrast to Blackburn, who has debated politicians significantly less, although in recent years she has made more than a hundred of appearances on Fox — according to the Tennessee Democratic Party —and spoken at three Republican National Conventions.
In 1992, Blackburn had one debate against U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon in the lead up to her first and only unsuccessful bid for office, when she challenged the incumbent Democrat.
Blackburn’s campaign said she also participated in a debate in 2002. A review of news articles from the time could not find such a debate.
In the Republican primary for the 7th Congressional District, Blackburn shared a stage with several of her opponents, including state Sen. Mark Norris, in Cordova.
When Blackburn was facing Democrat Tim Barron in the 2002 general election, she did not attend a televised political forum in Clarksville, citing a prior engagement.
House Speaker Beth Harwell, RNashville, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor this year, said Blackburn needs to reach out voters in the middle.
“She hasn’t asked for my advice but if she did, I would certainly say you’ve got your conservative base,” Harwell told Grand Divisions, the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee’s policy and politics podcast. “To continue to go after them — really?”
Harwell, who tried to differentiate herself from her GOP opponents by supporting medical marijuana, said one way Blackburn and Bredesen could try set themselves apart is by generating a catchy soundbite.
Must-see broadcast for those following politics
Oppenheimer said most of the people who will tune into the debate are those who have already been paying attention. But there’s always the possibility that the debate could lead one candidate to making a gaffe.
In terms of what to expect on Tuesday, Bredesen will likely highlight his independence and experience as governor as he points out Blackburn’s longevity in Washington, D.C.
Blackburn is expected to remind viewers of her support for President Donald Trump while arguing that Bredesen would fall in lock step with national Democrats.
Although the debate might not lead voters to change their minds, it will be must-see-TV for fans of Tennessee politics.
Joey Garrison contributed to this report.
Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.