Candidates for Congress will debate Thursday evening in Granby, but not all of them will be on hand.
Republican Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle will debate her Green Party opponent, Ursula Rozum, Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at the Granby Town Hall, according to an announcement by Buerkle’s campaign.
Missing from the event will be Democratic candidate Dan Maffei. He rejected in September Buerkle’s invitation to take part in the four planned town hall debates.
All three candidates have agreed to take part in two televised debates, at WCNY and WSYR.
Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Beth Hilton will moderate the Granby debate, which will feature written questions from members of the audience.
Buerkle is a first-term member of Congress. She won election by a razor-thin margin over then-Congressman Maffei.
Roll Call Magazine rates Buerkle the 6th most endangered incumbent in Congress.
Reapportionment of Congressional districts pushed Buerkle’s district into western Oswego County.
Rozum has, so far, pulled very strong numbers in polls for a third party candidate. A recent Siena College poll found her winning 7% support, with analysis presuming that most of her support came from voters who might have supported Maffei instead.
