Sharice Davids pulls out of JoCo event after it becomes debate with Yoder

This story has been updated — ‘Ghost of a candidate’: Yoder criticizes Davids for skipping JoCo debate

Democrat Sharice Davids has pulled out of an appearance at a candidate forum in Johnson County hours before it was set to begin, citing Rep. Kevin Yoder’s last-minute participation in the event.

Davids had agreed in August to attend the Johnson County Bar Association’s forum that is set to take place Wednesday in Overland Park, according to Tracey DeMarea, the organization’s executive director.

Yoder, the incumbent Republican in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, had not been expected to attend until the night before the event after the U.S. House canceled its scheduled votes for the week.

His campaign announced late Tuesday evening that he would attend, declaring it the first debate between the two candidates after weeks of disputes between the two campaigns over debate logistics.

But by Wednesday morning, Davids’ participation in the event was in doubt. “We are now unclear as to whether Sharice Davids will debate Mr. Yoder,” DeMarea said Wednesday morning.

Davids’ campaign said that as of last week the candidate had agreed to make a brief appearance at the event and to field questions from the crowd at the event, which would be open to members of the Bar Association and the media.

The first the campaign heard about Yoder’s participation and a debate format was Tuesday night, according to the campaign.

Allison Teixeira Sulier, Davids’ campaign spokeswoman, insisted in a statement that the Democratic challenger still plans to debate Yoder in the near future, citing her agreement to a debate hosted by The Kansas City Star.

“Sharice looks forward to debating Kevin Yoder on the important issues facing Kansans, that’s why we have agreed to a televised debate hosted by the KC Star on October 29. Rep. Yoder still has not accepted this invitation and instead is playing last minute games and trying to hide behind ticketed events, closed to the majority of Kansans,” Teixeria Sulier said.

“After voting to raise healthcare premiums, gut protections for pre-existing conditions and raise taxes on middle class families it’s no surprise that Rep. Yoder is resorting to political ploys instead of trying to defend his dangerous record.”

Reached after Davids’ campaign announced the cancellation, DeMarea said in a statement she was “disappointed that Sharice Davids can now not attend our Bar luncheon today, as we have some 280 (to) 300 members attending and it would have been a great opportunity for our local attorneys and judges to hear from our two congressional candidates.”

DeMarea said in an interview that the association will host a question-and-answer forum with Yoder. She said that, as she awaited confirmation from Yoder’s team Tuesday after the House vote cancellation, Davids’ campaign made it clear she would not debate at the event.

Had both candidates attended, the format would have changed from a question-and-answer forum to a debate, she said.

“It was going to be a debate,” DeMarea said. “It was exactly the same format and forum that we used for the gubernatorial debate.”

Davids, who nabbed former President Barack Obama’s endorsement this week, currently leads Yoder in public polls and has outraised his campaign by $1.6 million since the start of July.

Yoder’s campaign has been accusing Davids of refusing to debate for weeks after she did not agree to a forum hosted last month hosted by the Kansas City, Kan., Chamber of Commerce because of a scheduling conflict.

His campaign confirmed that he still plans to attend the Bar Association forum Wednesday despite Davids’ cancellation.

This story was originally published October 3, 2018 at 9:47 AM.