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Murray, Smiley will debate head-to-head at least once, maybe twice

Published 1:30 am Sunday, September 25, 2022

By Herald Staff

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, right, a Democrat, and Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, left, running as a nonpartisan, take part in a debate, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in Olympia, Wash., with Melissa Santos, center, of Axios Local, moderating. Hobbs and Anderson are seeking to fill the remaining two years of the term of Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who left to take a key election security job in the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, right, a Democrat, and Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, left, running as a nonpartisan, take part in a debate, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in Olympia, Wash., with Melissa Santos, center, of Axios Local, moderating. Hobbs and Anderson are seeking to fill the remaining two years of the term of Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who left to take a key election security job in the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, right, a Democrat, and Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, left, running as a nonpartisan, take part in a debate, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in Olympia, Wash., with Melissa Santos, center, of Axios Local, moderating. Hobbs and Anderson are seeking to fill the remaining two years of the term of Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who left to take a key election security job in the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, right, a Democrat, and Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, left, running as a nonpartisan, take part in a debate, on Aug. 17, in Olympia, with Melissa Santos, center, of Axios Local, moderating. Hobbs and Anderson are seeking to fill the remaining two years of the term of Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who left to take a key election security job in the Biden administration. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren)

SEATTLE — Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley will face off in a forum in Spokane next month.

Now, the question is whether the five-term incumbent senator will agree to a second debate in Seattle before Election Day.

Murray and Smiley will take part in the forum at 5 p.m. Oct. 23 at Gonzaga University in Spokane. It is being organized by the Washington State Debate Coalition in partnership with the Spokesman-Review and League of Women Voters.

Smiley has also agreed to a second debate two days later, at 7 p.m. in Pigott Hall on the campus of Seattle University. But as of Friday morning, Murray had not confirmed her participation.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, and her Republican opponent, Matt Larkin, will share a stage on Friday, Oct. 28, at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.

And Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and challenger Julie Anderson will take part in a forum at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Hobbs, a Democrat, is from Lake Stevens and was appointed to the position last fall. Anderson, of Tacoma, has chosen not to affiliate with a political party and is listed on the ballot as nonpartisan.

Each of the events is expected to be televised and streamed live online. Details will be announced closer to the date of the respective events.

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