Glenn Youngkin to skip debate run by Virginia Bar Association in governor race against McCauliffe

Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin is skipping one of the debates in his race against Democrat Terry McAuliffe, citing a moderator's past donation to a charity associated with former President Bill Clinton, and that debate organizers wouldn't offer assurances that the economy would be a topic.

"Unfortunately, the VBA refused to dedicate a portion of the debate to a discussion on Virginia’s economy and jobs, which proved to be an insurmountable barrier in our negotiations," Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said Monday afternoon. "It would also be a conflict of interest to have former Clinton Foundation board member Terry McAuliffe being ‘questioned’ by a Clinton Foundation donor." The VBA said in a subsequent statement Monday that it decided "to remove the gubernatorial debate from the 2021 VBA Summer Meeting programming" because "we were not able to get commitments for a debate that included all of the major candidates."