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Republican Morales declines debates in Indiana Secretary of State race

Republican Secretary of State candidate Diego Morales speaks to reporters at the Indiana Republican Party convention, held in Farmers Coliseum at the State Fairgrounds. Morales is a Latino man with dark hair, wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt and green tie. Behind him is the convention floor, with rows of chairs and delegates walking around.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Republican Secretary of State candidate Diego Morales is resisting calls to participate in a debate. His campaign said his focus is on traveling to all 92 counties in Indiana.

Republican Secretary of State candidate Diego Morales is resisting calls to participate in a debate.

Morales’s campaign said his focus is on traveling all 92 Indiana counties. They point to interviews he’s done and note there are no congressional debates in Indiana this year, nor in other statewide races for state auditor and treasurer.

Libertarian Secretary of State candidate Jeff Maurer said Morales is hiding.

“If your ideas are so bad that you can’t even stand in front of a crowd of people, of your neighbors, to defend them, then something’s wrong. You need better ideas,” Maurer said.

Democratic candidate Destiny Wells said voters care about debates.

“It is a chance for the voter to easily access information in direct contrast to each other, instead of having to go root through the news and find each of our different policy positions through interviews,” Wells said.

Wells and Maurer may participate in a debate next month without Morales.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.