ALBUQUERQUE — Democrat Deb Haaland, who announced this summer she would debate Republican Gregg Hull on KOB 4 in early October, skipped the station’s Thursday night debate, leaving Hull to answer questions alone in front of an empty podium.

“I look forward to meeting my opponent on the debate stage,” Haaland said in a July campaign announcement that she would take part in a KOB-hosted debate.

Instead, the 6 p.m. broadcast became a conversation with Hull, the former Rio Rancho mayor. KOB kept two podiums on set. Haaland’s campaign cited a prior commitment with farmers and ranchers in southern New Mexico. KOB said Sept. 24 it had asked her campaign to explain the conflict and had not received an answer.

“It should have been a debate,” Hull said, noting he took part in four primary debates.

Dispute over dates

Hull’s campaign agreed to the KOB debate June 3. Hull proposed Oct. 5 or 6, around the start of early voting, and Haaland proposed Oct. 12. KOB chose Oct. 8 as a compromise and said neither campaign called the date unworkable. Haaland’s campaign says it told the station in July that week wouldn’t work.

On Sept. 24, Haaland campaign manager Dylan McArthur ended negotiations. He said the campaign had offered eight dates since July and Hull accepted none. Hull spokesman Ryan Saylor said Haaland never planned to debate and turned down invitations from other outlets. He called the standoff a “circus” of her campaign’s making.

KOB News Director Matt Grubs said the station offered airtime on any date both campaigns could accept.

Data centers

Hull used much of the hour to press Haaland on data centers. He opposes the statewide moratorium she supports, saying projects should be weighed individually. He criticized her over donations from donors tied to Project Jupiter, a data center project in Doña Ana County. Campaign finance reports showed the donations days before she announced her moratorium position, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

Haaland is the frontrunner. An Albuquerque Journal poll released Aug. 30 showed her leading by 6 points, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points. Pollster Brian Sanderoff said a front-runner risks little by skipping debates but faces a political gamble if voters see her as avoiding a head-to-head matchup.

Haaland also faced criticism for avoiding debates during the Democratic primary, when challenger Sam Bregman pushed her to debate and made her refusal an issue, the New Mexican reported. The two faced off once.

The Democratic Party of New Mexico said KOB knew for weeks that Haaland couldn’t attend, calling the event “theater.”

Haaland’s campaign says she will not debate Hull before the Nov. 3 election. Early voting began Tuesday.