Nevada won't have a Senate candidate debate before midterm elections

Voters in Nevada will be denied a debate between the major party candidates for U.S. Senate after the Republican and Democratic campaigns could not come to an agreement on a televised debate before the Nov. 8 election.

The respective campaigns for Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and her Republican opponent Adam Laxalt each pointed blame at the other for their failure to schedule a debate. Each campaign had accepted invitations to debate from different Nevada media outlets, but never the same outlet.

“The senator was eager to debate and accepted three statewide debates that, unfortunately, her opponent decided he would not participate in,” Cortez Masto spokesman Josh Marcus Blank told NBC News on Thursday.

Laxalt accused Cortez Masto of "hiding" in a recent statement.

“I have accepted televised, statewide debate offers with two respected, neutral Nevada media outlets: Sinclair Broadcast Group, which runs the Las Vegas and Reno NBC Stations, and Nevada Newsmakers,” Laxalt said. “We hope that Catherine Cortez Masto will stop hiding and agree to at least one of them.”

Polls show a very tight race in Nevada, with Cortez Masto considered to be one of the most vulnerable incumbent senators. Democrats currently hold a 50-50 Senate majority, the narrowest possible, meaning even a single loss this election cycle could wrest control of the chamber away from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Televised debates can carry high risk and high reward in such an environment. A strong debate performance or unfortunate gaffe could make or break a political campaign, and candidates that do not feel capable of defending their positions under high pressure face strong incentives to avoid or limit debate appearances.

Cortez Masto's campaign accepted three invitations to debate. The first was to be hosted in Reno by KOLO-TV in partnership with the League of Women Voters and the Reno Gazette-Journal. That debate was scrapped after Laxalt's campaign did not respond to the invitation. The senator has also accepted invitations to debate from Vegas PBS/Nevada Public Radio, scheduled for Oct. 13, and KLAS-TV, scheduled for Oct. 20.

Laxalt accepted two invitations to debate from Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nevada Newsmakers.

Since the candidates could not agree on the same debate venue, there will be no debate before the election.

Other Senate candidates in key battleground races either have already debated or are scheduled to debate sometime in the next three weeks before the election.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) will face his Democratic opponent, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, for the second time at 7 p.m. Eastern time tonight. The debate will be livestreamed.

In Georgia, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) will square off against challenger Herschel Walker for their first and only scheduled debate on Friday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Ohio Senate candidates J.D. Vance (R) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D) will face each other for a second time on Monday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) will debate independent challenger Evan McMullin the same night at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

In Colorado, Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and his Republican challenger, Joe O'Dea, will participate in a 30-minute forum on mental health on Tuesday, Oct. 18, and then debate again a week later on Tuesday, Oct. 25, with a third and final debate scheduled for Friday, Oct. 28.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz will also debate on Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Senate candidates in North Carolina and Arizona have already debated.