‘Need More Than 1 Candidate’ : Hopes Fade for Televised GOP Debate in Torrance

Hopes are fading for a nationally televised debate between Republican presidential candidates on June 4 in Torrance.

“You need more than one candidate to hold a debate,” said Janice Kaplan, public affairs director of the League of Women Voters, which has been planning a debate between the Republican contenders at El Camino College.

With Vice President George Bush holding a commanding lead over Kansas Sen. Robert Dole, and former religious broadcaster Pat Robertson’s campaign foundering, there is a growing sense among debate organizers that the race for the Republican nomination may be over before the campaign moves west to California.

Kaplan noted that Dole has vowed to stay in the race at least until after the Wisconsin primary April 5. “As long as there is a race, we’re hoping there will be a debate,” said Kaplan, who was in Torrance this week with other league officials from Washington. “We are going to go ahead with our plans at this point.”

Concern about the Republican debate has not dampened the spirit of an estimated 150 league volunteers who are busily moving ahead with plans for the debate among the remaining Democratic candidates in Torrance on June 5, two days before the California primary.

Nearly $100,000 in cash and in-kind contributions have been pledged to help the league cover the cost of producing the debate. The overall fund-raising goal is $250,000, and although the overhead cost will be less if only one debate is held, it will not be sliced in half, Kaplan said.

The Torrance debates are the last in a series sponsored by the league during the presidential primary season. Another set of debates is planned before the general election, including one Nov. 1 in Los Angeles.

Both Republican and Democratic candidates participated in a league debate Feb. 13 and 14 in Manchester, N.H.

But Kaplan said the league was forced to cancel a set of pre-Super Tuesday debates March 5 and 6 in Nashville, Tenn., after Bush refused to participate and Democratic candidates declined to appear on the home turf of Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr.

The next set of debates is set for the weekend of April 16 and 17 in Rochester, N.Y., the weekend before voters in the nation’s second-largest state go to the polls. So far, none of the Republican candidates and only one Democrat, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, have agreed to participate, Kaplan said.

Televised Live

The Torrance debates are scheduled to be televised live on Cable News Network and may be broadcast in Los Angeles on public television, Kaplan said. “It’s really going to be important before the New York and California primary to see the candidates debating the most current issues,” she said.

After this week’s visit, representatives from the league’s national headquarters in Washington said they continue to be impressed with the debate preparations taking place in Torrance. Organizers “are certainly enthusiastic and hard working,” said Natalie Testa, a national league official.

Tickets for the Torrance debate will be distributed to state and local officials, league contributors and leaders, the presidential campaigns, El Camino College and civic groups across the state.

Although there will be no general distribution of tickets, “we’re really making an effort to invite a broad spectrum of the public,” Kaplan said.