OH-Sen: Renacci campaign accuses Brown of ducking debate on GOP tax reform

The Senate campaign for Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) has accused Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) of trying to go back on the senator's claim that he'd be willing to debate Renacci on the merits of the Republican tax law, according to Cleveland.com.

Brown told The New York Times on Friday that he would be willing to have an entire debate with Renacci just on the tax law, saying the GOP "should be ashamed of their tax bill, and I think they are."

Now, Brown's campaign is reportedly saying they have not agreed to such a debate, after announcing debates in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, which the Renacci campaign denies have been set in stone.

"It was completely underhanded and ridiculous, and they did all of this to cover up what Sherrod Brown had done, which is commit to a debate which they know he can't win," campaign spokeswoman Leslie Shedd told Cleveland.com.

Why would Renacci want this debate?

Renacci often refers to himself as an "architect" of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and feels confident he could come out on top of a debate focused on the subject.

"As a chief architect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, I would like nothing more than to devote an entire debate to talking about all the ways this important legislation has helped Ohio families and small businesses," Renacci said in a statement over the weekend.

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Mandi Merritt challenged Brown to follow through with the debate.

"Sherrod Brown should finish what he started and debate Congressman Renacci on the merits of the tax cuts -- a debate that Congressman Renacci would easily win," Merritt said in a statement.

What does the Brown campaign say?

While the Renacci campaign continues to call for a fourth debate about tax law, Brown's campaign only acknowledged three debates.

"Last week our campaign had a good conversation with the Renacci campaign about candidate debates this fall," said Preston Maddock, a campaign spokesman. "The campaigns mutually agreed to three debates total, which will be held in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. We look forward to continuing good faith discussions with the Renacci campaign to ensure that voters have the opportunity to learn more about the clear contrast in this race."

Shedd pushed back against that statement on Twitter, clarifying that the Renacci campaign agreed to "at least three debates," but that they are pushing for a fourth and that locations for the first three have not been confirmed.