U.S. Senate Candidate Joe Tache Earned His Place on the Debate Stage, so Boston 25 and GBH Canceled the Debate
In July, Boston 25 and GBH invited U.S. Senate candidates to a televised general election debate on two conditions: appear on the November ballot and raise $250,000 from individual donors. Joe Tache, the Party for Socialism and Liberation's candidate, met both. The stations confirmed the debate for October 1 in Dedham. Four days later, they called it off in a one-sentence email that gave no reason. Tache, who is polling at 9% according to a recent UNH poll, and supporters of his campaign are asking the stations to explain the decision and reverse it.
[Boston, MA] — Boston 25 and GBH have canceled their televised general election debate for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, nine days before it was set to air and without offering any reason. The debate would have made Tache the first third party socialist candidate to participate in a televised debate.
On July 10, Boston 25 invited the Joe Tache for U.S. Senate campaign to a general election debate hosted in partnership with GBH. The invitation set two criteria for every candidate: appear on the general election ballot, and receive at least $250,000 in individual campaign contributions, according to Federal Election Commission data, by September 4.
Tache met both. His all-volunteer campaign put him on the November 3 ballot this spring with more than 20,000 signatures gathered in two weeks. When the invitation arrived, the campaign was about $100,000 short of the fundraising bar; by September it had raised $268,790.84 in individual contributions on its FEC filings, with no corporate or PAC money.
The stations then moved ahead. On September 8, Boston 25 sent candidates the debate's format and rules, describing a live statewide broadcast on Boston 25 and GBH, streamed online, with Portuguese translation and post-debate coverage in Spanish. On September 18, the station confirmed the date: Thursday, October 1, at Boston 25 Studios in Dedham.
On September 22, candidates received a two-sentence email: "Boston 25 and GBH have made the decision not to host a U.S. Senate debate." The stations offered one-on-one sit-down interviews instead.
In a reply to the stations, Tache called the decision "disrespectful and anti-democratic" and asked them to explain it.
"Voters across the state donated their hard-earned money to our campaign because they hope to see our program represented on the debate stage," Tache wrote. "Just last week, you confirmed a date and time for the debate. Never did you give any indication that it might be called off."
"In no way can it be in the best interests of your viewers to deprive them the opportunity to watch candidates for office debate their ideas," he continued. "I know that Boston 25 understands the value of debates — you held one about this same U.S. Senate race just last month."
Tache said he will sit down with Boston 25 for an interview, but that an interview is no substitute.
"Debates are the only forum in which residents have the opportunity to see candidates juxtapose their ideas live and side-by-side," Tache wrote. "I am asking that you reverse this decision and organize the debate as planned."
The campaign is asking supporters to call both stations and urge them to hold the debate on October 1 as planned.
The University of New Hampshire Survey Center's Bay State Poll from September 24 put Tache at 9%, with 77% of respondents saying they didn't yet know enough about him to have an opinion — the voters a televised debate would have reached.
According to the poll, “Among Independents, 35% support Markey, 32% support Tache, 14% support Deaton, and 18% are undecided.” The Tache campaign is gaining momentum and they are continuing to push to be platformed through network debates.