The Craziest Debate Challenge Nevada Has Ever Seen.
George Harris just threw down the gauntlet. And he’s handing his opponent the rule book.
On Thursday, the Republican candidate for Nevada State Senate District 8 issued an open debate challenge to incumbent Democrat State Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop.
Harris calls it “the most absolutely, positively outrageously insane debate challenge in the history of debate challenges.”
He might be right.
Three Rules. That’s It.
Harris set just three conditions. The debate must be video recorded. It must run at least one hour. And it must happen before the polls open on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Everything else? That’s Loop’s call.
“She can pick the time, the place, the rules and the referee,” Harris said. “She can even write the questions herself. All I’m asking is that she show up and face the voters.”
And he means “everything.”
In person or on Zoom. A big crowd, a small crowd or no crowd at all. She can even pack the room with her own supporters.
She can go first on every question. Or second.
She can take 20 minutes for her opening and give Harris two. Or she can filibuster the whole hour if she wants.
She can bring notes, a laptop and a whole team of consultants.
She can even use a “phone a friend” lifeline.
Harris says he’ll debate standing, sitting or lying on separate twin beds like Rob and Laura Petrie from the old “Dick Van Dyke Show.”
He’ll even let Jon Ralston moderate.
That’s the same Nevada Independent publisher who, Harris says, “hates me with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns.”
And since Loop’s campaign has accused him of “a history of shady business dealings,” Harris says she can make him debate in handcuffs and an orange prison suit.
Why Now?
Harris says he set out to run an issue-based campaign. Then Loop’s camp started hitting him with what he calls “outright lies about my personal finances and business background.”
“As the saying goes, I now invite you to ‘say it to my face,'” Harris wrote.
He also took a jab at a recent Nevada Independent story.
It called Loop a “veteran legislator.” It called Harris an “agitator” with a “penchant for provocation.”
His response? “Well, I’d hate to disappoint.”
Harris says he’s also heard from voters and legislative insiders who say Loop is just “going through the motions” in Carson City.
“If so, the voters of our district deserve to know that before they cast their ballots, not after,” he wrote.
Loop has been in the Senate since 2018. Before that, she served in the Assembly from 2008 to 2014.
Senate District 8 is one of three Clark County seats Republicans are targeting in their push to flip the state Senate.
The Questions Loop Would Rather Skip
Harris doesn’t require any topics. But he’d like Loop to explain a few votes.
Like her support for the $1.8 billion “Hollywood Handout.” And what Harris calls an ethical conflict, since her brother worked for a lobbying firm pushing it.
He’d also like her to explain her 2025 vote to automatically raise the gas tax every year without a vote of the people. Plus her 2019 vote to hike the diesel tax.
Then there’s voter ID. Girls’ sports. School choice. The Second Amendment.
And why she won’t sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.
“Of course, if you think I’m misrepresenting any of this in your record, feel free to correct it during the debate,” Harris wrote. “I’ll give you all the time you need.”
The Clock Is Ticking
Harris gave Loop until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15 to respond. He even listed his personal cell phone and email.
Or she can send her answer by carrier pigeon.
So the ball’s in Sen. Loop’s court. And she gets to pick the court, too.
If an 18-year politician won’t debate when she writes every single rule, voters will have to ask themselves why.
You can read the full press release by clicking here.
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