The first televised debate was to be held on Thursday, December 1, hosted by the Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) and the Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL).  It was to be aired on all of the LPB stations around the state.  Kennedy refused to participate.
    The second televised debate was scheduled for Friday, December 2, hosted by Nexstar and WVLA-TV of Baton Rouge.  It was to be broadcast locally on KTAL-TV.
    The original debate rules allowed each candidate to have 125 live audience members.  Kennedy apparently did not like the debate to be held before a live audience and declined to participate.
#lasen Tweets     Campbell was notified by Gary Wordlaw, WVLA news director by e-mail that a Kennedy spokesperson wanted no live audience and required that the debate be “held with just the two candidates and the anchors.”
    Campbell was furious.  “Mr. Kennedy is so weak  he won’t even debate me.  He made time to punch his membership card to the insiders club in Washington with two recent D.C. fundraisers.  He’s taking time to talk to deep-pocketed corporate lobbyists, but he won’t make time to talk to the people of Louisiana.  He’s pitiful,” Campbell said in a press release.
    About Kennedy refusing to debate before a live audience, Campbell had this to say:  “Either he doesn’t have 125 friends who will come, or he found out that the corporate lobbyists filling his bank account couldn’t get their private jets to Louisiana that day.” 
    As a result, voters in Louisiana will not have the opportunity to see the two candidates in  televised debates discussing the issues in this race.