Proposed Manchin-Morrisey debate in Wheeling will not be held

WHEELING -- A debate between the two leading candidates for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia, which had been proposed for Oct. 14 in Wheeling, will not be held.

Three leading newspaper companies, including The Weirton Daily Times’ parent firm in Wheeling, had proposed the event.

Also involved were H-D Media, publisher of the Charleston Gazette and the Huntington Herald Dispatch, and NCWV Media, publisher of The Exponent Telegram in Clarksburg and The State Journal in Charleston.

Incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Republican candidate for Senate, had been invited to participate in the debate. Also on the Nov. 6 election ballot for the Senate is Libertarian candidate Rusty Hollen, of Clarksburg.

Manchin had agreed to take part in the event. But, though an official in Morrisey’s campaign said the Wheeling event still was being considered, representatives of the newspapers agreed this week to cancel the debate because of time constraints. Lack of time to prepare for the event and plan a site for it were cited.