Candidates are increasingly dropping debates. Here's what it means for voters
As the high-stakes midterm elections approach and hundreds of candidates make their case to voters, in many cases, those voters won't get a chance to see candidates debate -- a trend over the last several elections, according to an ABC News analysis.
This year, 36 governors are up for election -- 21 of those races will not see a debate between the two major-party candidates. That number includes three of the governor's races ranked by ABC News as toss-ups: Georgia, Nevada and Ohio.
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The number of governor’s races with no debate has increased over the past two midterm elections. In 2018, only two races out of 36 saw no debates -- Alabama and Nevada. In 2022, that number went up to eight out of the 36 gubernatorial races.
The trend is even more pronounced in Senate races.
Of the 35 Senate seats up for election in 2026, 21 of them have no debate scheduled between the major candidates including toss-up races in Ohio and Texas.
Of the 34 seats up for reelection in 2024, nine had no debates; in 2022, there were no debates for 14 out...