Virginia Bar Association cancels gubernatorial debate after candidates don’t RSVP

The Virginia Bar Association has canceled its scheduled July 19 gubernatorial debate after neither candidate accepted an invitation before the organization’s June 9 deadline.

The VBA said April 28 that it invited the two nominees, Democrat former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, to debate during the association’s summer meeting at the Omni Homestead Resort in Bath County. The VBA hosted debates for the statewide races for governor and U.S. senator from 1985 to 2020.

In 2021, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, then the Republican nominee for Virginia governor, broke with tradition in skipping what traditionally is the first debate between Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates. Youngkin defeated former Gov. Terry McAuliffe that fall.

“For years, the nonpartisan VBA informed its members and the public on candidates’ views through debates that were the first of the campaign season,” VBA President Kimberlee Harris Ramsey said in a statement. “We regret that we will be unable to continue this tradition, but we cannot hold debates that encourage participation in the election process when the candidates decline to take part.”

Spanberger and Earle-Sears earned their parties’ respective gubernatorial nominations after being the only candidates to file by deadline. The Nov. 4 election will determine Virginia’s first woman governor, while Earle-Sears would become the country’s first Black woman governor if elected.

In place of the debate, the VBA will offer CLE courses on conflict resolution and pro bono service.