Third-party candidates in statewide races are criticizing their opponents and a PBS station after being excluded from the only debates in their races.
Both Independent party gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett, a former Republican strategist, and American Center Party U.S. Senate candidate Whitfield Harrington were excluded from their races’ only debates on Chicago-area station WTTW.
Corbett was skeptical of that rule change after Chicago News Weekly shared the results of a poll for each statewide race by Public Policy Polling – which he said is Democratic party-aligned.
The WTTW candidate forum rules for eligibility require each candidate to have at least 15% public support based on polling conducted after the primary election. Corbett had 9% in the poll and Harrington didn’t appear among the results.
The debate between the candidates to replace U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Democrat candidate Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton and Republican Don Tracy, is scheduled to air on WTTW at 8 p.m. Tuesday and will be simulcast on Blue Room Stream.
Story from Illinois Radio Network
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