The Misadventures of Moscow Mitch: ICYMI: McConnell Refuses To Appear in Debates With Female Moderator

By KENNY COLSTON

Kentucky Democratic Party

Frankfort, KY— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is refusing to participate in debates that include women journalists as moderators, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. 

McConnell is refusing a debate on KET, the statewide public affairs channel that would be moderated by a black woman, Renee Shaw. And it appears after accepting a debate hosted by TV stations owned by Gray TV, McConnell’s campaign worked to get a woman proposed to co-moderate the debate -- WAVE3’s Shannon Cogan -- removed. The debate is now moderated only by a man. 

It’s a trend that McConnell has carried for 25 years, the newspaper reported, noting that the last time McConnell participated in a debate with a female moderator was in 1996. 

Furthermore, McConnell has explicitly refused to join any debate that has Liberatrian candidate Brad Barron, despite Barron qualifying for the KET debate. 

In a statement, Kentucky Democratic Party spokesperson Marisa McNee said McConnell’s decision to avoid any debates with women as moderators is disgusting. 

“It’s no surprise that the same person who is blocking renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, equal pay for women in the workplace and so much other legislation that would help Kentucky women is refusing to appear in a debate moderated by a woman,” McNee said. “Mitch McConnell has been in the Senate for 35 years. It’s time for him to step into the modern world where women are equal, and, stop forcing last minute changes to avoid accountability.”