Unconventional U.S. Senate debate stirs racial tensions
COLUMBUS — Josh Mandel kicked off a U.S. Senate debate against Morgan Harper by claiming her Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, won’t debate her because she’s a Black woman.
The Republican former state treasurer later said he would set records for earning votes in the Black community if he wins the GOP primary in May.
Harper, a progressive attorney and community activist, wasn’t having it.
“What we don’t need to have happen is Josh Mandel speaking in any way for the Black community,” she said.
The moment was a flashpoint in a contentious debate Thursday that bucked tradition by pitting a Republican and Democrat against each other months before the primary. Mandel is widely considered the frontrunner in a crowded GOP race, while Harper is facing a wellfunded Ryan for the Democratic nomination.
Harper and Mandel presented the debate as a way for voters to hear their positions on the issues, and they disagreed on everything from climate change to qualified immunity for police officers. But the event also served as a political stunt to elevate both candidates as they fight for their respective party nominations.
It was also spurred by Ryan’s disinterest in holding a debate with Harper at this stage in the primary season. His campaign says they’ll revisit the matter once the Feb. 2 candidate filing deadline has passed.
“We’ll have a debate at some point,” Ryan said this week. “We’ll have that conversation at some point. But right now we’re going to stay focused on making sure we touch every corner of this state, and then we’ll figure it out. They’re welcome to do what they want in the meantime.”
The crowd gathered at North Columbus Baptist Church was vocal throughout the evening as Mandel and Harper sparred on stage. Some attendees hoped to come away with a sense of who to vote for in the May 3 primary.
“I already know who I don’t want to vote for,” Cheryl Zay of Powell said. “But I’m not sure who I want to vote for. It’s a very critical election.”
However, Mandel incensed audience members after he called Black Lives Matter advocates “thugs” while discussing his support for police. Michael Aaron of Columbus left in the middle of the event and called the Republican “divorced from reality.”
Julian Mack approached Mandel afterward and urged him not to reinforce negative stereotypes of Black people.
“Stop bashing people’s homes, and I’ll stop calling you thugs,” Mandel told Mack.
Mack told reporters afterward that the debate was important and showed candidates with opposing views can still get together and discuss issues. Still, Mandel was espousing “toxic, hurtful rhetoric,” he said.
“They asked us as an audience to be respectful, and that’s disrespectful to Black people,” Mack said.
“We’re trying to make our communities better, safer, and to have a gross characterization like that — and I think when we’re so polarized on opposite sides and we don’t engage with each other, those characterizations can exist.”