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Of U.S. congressional incumbents in South Jersey, only one is scheduled to debate their opponent this year: Republican Jeff Van Drew of the 2nd District. Democratic incumbents Donald Norcross and Herb Conaway are opting to skip the debate stage.
For Norcross, none of this is new. Four past Republican opponents in New Jersey’s 1st Congressional District — Garry W. Cobb, Paul Dilks, Claire Gustafson and Teddy Liddell — lost their respective races against him without an opportunity to debate.
According to research by WHYY News, it has been a decade since Norcross debated any opponent. His last known debate was at a May 31, 2016 forum sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey. According to an account from the Observer, Norcross debated his Democratic primary challenger Alex Law and his Republican challenger Bob Patterson, who ran unopposed.
Norcross’ current Republican challenger, Damon Galdo, has tried everything to get his opponent to the debate stage for at least three months, including hand-delivered and certified letters, reaching out through social media and getting Norcross’ attention at a music festival with a cardboard cutout of the congressman.
“I pinned him to a tree and I had him hold two of my lawn signs saying, ‘Vote for Damon Galdo for Congress,’” Galdo said, referring to the cutout. “He laughed at it. I’ll give him that.”
According to Galdo, Norcross said a debate would happen only if the T-shirt Galdo was wearing had a union label.
Galdo pressed Norcross again for a debate at a town hall at Haddon Township High School in September.
“He said, ‘That’s a political issue, a political issue is not the time and place for that question,’” Galdo recalled. “And I said, ‘When is the time and place? It’s a town hall.’”
Norcross said he didn’t answer the question because it was a “governmental” forum and that he has held town halls monthly.
“For somebody that has only a message of Donald Trump, all he wants to do is try to make publicity and that’s fine,” Norcross said, referring to Galdo. “I get his politics with the Trump administration. I’m here to try to help the people.”
When asked if he would be open to debating Galdo on the issues, Norcross said, “I hold the debate on the issues every day.”
Galdo ultimately took on the cardboard cutout of his opponent when couldn’t get the flesh-and-blood Norcross to debate him.
