In politics, you’re either on message or you are losing. Let’s get to it.

Welcome to On Message, a weekly look at where the battle lines are drawn and who is winning the war of words.

This week… NO-SHOW.

We are in the thick of a debate season with candidates from all five federal races facing off with their opponents, all within an eleven day period.

At least that was the general idea.

While there’s no requirement for a candidate to take part in a debate, the events have become a traditional part of our election process. It’s the best chance to stand right next to your opponent, lay out your policy positions and show voters why you are the right person for the job.

The reality is each candidate has a different calculation to make – and it’s that calculation that impacts how they prepare for debates, how they perform and how often they participate in a debate.

Or, in the case of Congressman Burgess Owens, whether you show up at all.

Last week, the only real news that’s come from any of the debates came when Owens announced he was skipping out on the whole affair, citing issues with the moderator.

Moderators for the debates are selected by the Utah Debate Commission and aren’t really up for negotiation. So when Salt Lake Tribune executive editor, Lauren Gustus, was selected to moderate the Fourth District debate… that didn’t sit right with Owens who has a beef with the Trib dating back to when they published this political cartoon, which he deemed to be offensive and racist.

With Owens out and the stage was left to Democrat Darlene McDonald, Utah United party nominee January Walker and, eventually, a sack of potatoes.

Politics is weird sometimes.

So, who won this round of the messaging battle?

You might think it’s one of the two candidates who did the debate. You might argue that its Owens, who got to skip the debate and dominate a news cycle while taking a shot at the “liberal media” – a favorite target of his base. I suppose you might say it was potato farmers who got some free ad time.

I’d say it was probably Owens who didn’t seem at all eager to debate and found an easy excuse. And it won’t make a single bit of difference in a race he is going to win by a wide margin.

If you’re an incumbent, like Owens, standing next to your opponent – putting her on your same level – can show your humility and willingness to engage… but it can also give voters a good look at someone who may actually measure up against you pretty well.

It can be high-risk, high-reward. And that’s why incumbents are increasingly opting to debate as few times as they can get away with.

The fact is, in a mid-term election, the public interest is lower and viewership for the House debates has been lukewarm at best. My advice would have been to clear the amazingly-low bar in a debate few would watch and that would influence the vote of even fewer.

That’s it for this week.

More On Message in the next issue of the Utah Political Underground.

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