In an unusual move, incumbent Rep. Chet Edwards (D., TX-17) has challenged his Republican opponent Bill Flores to a series of 12 debates between now and election day. Edwards’ campaign accused Flores of “shying away from the media,” a curious charge given that Edwards did not hold a single town hall meeting during the August recess, something for which Flores has repeatedly criticized him:

“Edwards is asking you to vote for him in November, but for the past year, he has refused to let you meet with him,” Flores said in a statement. “This is a dereliction of duty and shows his contempt for the people he claims to represent.”
He said Edwards was avoiding meeting with voters because he didn’t want to answer for “his steadfast support for the job-killing agenda of [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and [President Barack] Obama.”