Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno and Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown both say they want to debate, but the clock is ticking for the two to share a stage together before Election Day.
Brown and Moreno held rallies in the same spot, just hours apart from each other in Franklin County on Tuesday while voters cast ballots early at the board of elections. That may be the closest the two get to sharing a space with each other before Election Day since neither has committed to a debate and none have been announced.
Both Moreno and Brown expressed a desire to debate before Election Day.
"I've said for eight months that we would debate him...look, Sherrod Brown can't stand on a debate stage and debate me, because he makes up lie after lie after lie after lie," Moreno said.
"Most of these reporters have seen me debate every race I've ever run in. I still plan to debate if it gets to that, but I would like to debate and I've always said that," Brown said.
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Brown wouldn't say if it is too late for the two candidates to debate and that he would leave that question up to reporters.
Moreno looked into a local TV news camera and challenged Brown to show up "in the next 15 minutes" so the two could debate outside his tour bus in the parking lot next to the Franklin County Board of Elections. Brown did not show up, and it is unclear if he had even heard about the challenge before the time limit was up.
"We'll have a good old-fashioned debate and he can stand in front of you," Moreno said.
Moreno and Brown are locked in what is considered to be the most tightly-contested U.S. Senate race in the country. The race could decide which political party controls the U.S. Senate.
Brown has held office since 2006, when he beat now-Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to win the seat. This is Moreno's first election as a Republican-nominee for statewide office.
