Boxer, Fong Agree to Hold Two Debates

Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Matt Fong have agreed to debates in Los Angeles and San Francisco and are considering as many as four more head-to-head contests, campaign officials said Tuesday.

The hourlong debate scheduled for Aug. 26 in Los Angeles will be the first of the campaign for Boxer, who declined to participate in the only formal face-off held before the June 2 primary election.

Boxer had said from the beginning that she would debate in the general election, but chose to stay on the sidelines during the Republican contest won by Fong, the state treasurer, over electronics entrepreneur Darrell Issa.

Typically debates are more eagerly sought by trailing candidates, who hope to see their competitors falter. With polls showing Fong and Boxer running neck-and-neck, both candidates seemed to welcome the joint appearances.

Spokesmen for both campaigns said they consider the debates ideal forums for pointing out the differences between the candidates. Each campaign is striving to portray its candidate as mainstream and the other as extreme--to the right and left.

“Matt’s going to state clearly what he believes in and show that Barbara Boxer believes, in most instances, in something completely different,” said Fong spokesman Steve Schmidt.

Boxer spokesman Roy Behr said the debates will be advantageous to the senator because “we can show this is Barbara Boxer, who has taken California in the right direction and this is Matt Fong, who represents taking California back in the wrong direction.”

The Los Angeles event will be sponsored and televised by KCAL-TV. Another is set for Oct. 12 in San Francisco, co-sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle and KRON-TV.

Others not yet finalized are tentatively planned for the Silicon Valley and Fresno, along with two more events in Los Angeles.

Based on negotiations between the campaigns, all six would be squeezed in before Oct. 23, to leave the candidates time to campaign before the Nov. 3 election.