U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) declined an invitation to debate her opponents Saturday, which is an improvement over her response to the League of Women Voters’ invitation to debate before the 2022 congressional election.
That year, she didn’t respond at all.
WFIU/WTIU News made several attempts to reach Houchin for an answer about why she isn’t participating in Saturday’s event, also hosted by the League of Women Voters. Houchin’s spokesperson on Tuesday morning said she would “get back to you shortly.” But the spokesperson didn’t reply to subsequent messages.
Tim Peck, Houchin’s Democratic opponent, told WFIU/WTIU in an interview this week: "We have had the 4-H call her to ask for a debate, the Fraternal Order of Police call to ask for a debate. We have had the League of Women Voters call to ask for a debate, and others, and she's refused all of that. That's not showing up."
Peck and Libertarian Russell Brooksbank are participating in Saturday’s debate.
In an email to WFIU/WTIU, the League of Women Voters Monroe County co-chair Debora Shaw said three chapters of the organization in Indiana’s 9th District invited Houchin to the event but were told by her office that she “would not be able to participate.”
The freshman congresswoman represents voters from southeast Indiana, from Bloomington to areas adjacent to Cincinnati and Louisville. The last Democrat to represent the district was elected in 2007.
Viewers can access the candidate forum on Zoom at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
