The two candidates vying to become Virginia’s next governor will take the stage Thursday night at Norfolk State University for the first and possibly only gubernatorial debate of this election season, just as controversy rages over texts by Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones suggesting in 2022 that bullets should be saved for killing a fellow state GOP lawmaker—instead of Hitler.

Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and her opponent, Democrat and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, will be speaking straight to voters about the most pressing concerns in Virginia. Earle-Sears can be expected to try to tie Spanberger to Jones as much as possible, as she has in ads already.

Former Republican Rep. David Brat spoke to The Daily Signal about what he predicts the debate will entail. Brat debated Spanberger during the 2018 congressional midterm elections where Spanberger challenged and ultimately defeated him, flipping Virginia’s 7th Congressional District blue.

“When I debated Spanberger, she weighed in on zero content on the key policy issues of our day,” Brat said. “That’s what I would expect in this debate. I think she’ll be totally nonresponsive.”

According to a new poll from Christopher Newport University, top-of-mind issues for voters vary between parties. Republicans said they are most concerned about inflation and the cost of living, followed by immigration and then crime. Democrats said they are most concerned about “threats to democracy,” followed by health care, then inflation and the cost of living. 

Brat predicts Earle-Sears will speak heavily on the social issues, like recent transgenderism and abortion scandals happening in Fairfax County Public Schools. Spanberger has largely avoided questions from the media when asked about her stance on transgender issues.

Brat also predicts Earle-Sears will spend a lot of time addressing Spanberger’s voting record, saying, “She runs as a moderate. She says she’s a moderate. The press validates and says she’s a moderate when the facts are totally contrary to that falsehood.” 

The attorney general debate is also coming up and is set for Oct. 16 at the University of Richmond Law School. However, with so many Virginians calling for Jones to drop out of the race after the recent revelations of his 2022 text messages threatening political violence against then-Speaker of the House of Delegates Todd Gilbert, the governor’s debate may be the only one of the election cycle.

The Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, John Reid, has been adamant about debating his opponent, Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, but no debate has been agreed to. Reid calls her out on social media often, describing her as “the only candidate who refuses to debate.”

The Spanberger/Earle-Sears debate will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in Norfolk. Nexstar Media Group Inc. is sponsoring it, and it will air on local station WAVY-TV 10 in Portsmouth. It will also air across Virginia on other Nexstar stations, including WRIC-TV in Richmond, WFXR-TV in Roanoke, and WDVM-TV/WDCW-TV in Washington, D.C.

Tom Schaad of WAVY-TV 10 and Deanna Albritton of WRIC-TV in Richmond will moderate. 

This is not the first debate offer for the candidates, but it is the first the two have agreed on. In August, CNN offered to host a debate, but Spanberger turned the outlet down “in order to prioritize Virginia broadcasters and ensure the focus remains squarely on issues impacting Virginia,” she said.