“Why Is Keith Self So Afraid to Debate Me?” Hunt Renews Challenge to Incumbent

By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews

COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — Democratic congressional candidate Evan Hunt is publicly challenging Republican Congressman Keith Self to a debate, accusing the incumbent of dodging a face-to-face matchup ahead of November’s election and urging supporters to pressure him into accepting.

In a social media post this week, Hunt wrote:

“Why is Congressman Keith Self so afraid to debate me? Does he spend so much time dividing his own constituents that he doesn’t have time to work on the issues actually affecting North Texas families, or even talk about them?”

He closed the post by asking supporters to “Like, share and tag Keith Self for Congress below so he gets the message.”

While the post was Hunt’s most direct public challenge of the campaign, he told TX3DNews it followed months of quieter efforts to arrange a debate privately.

A Challenge Months in the Making

Hunt said he personally delivered a written debate invitation to Self’s congressional office in March and met with members of the congressman’s staff.

“A written letter was personally hand-delivered to his office. I met with his staff. This was back in March. That’s the last time I tried, because he or his staff didn’t even bother to respond.”

According to Hunt, that invitation remains unanswered.

“Voters Deserve to Compare”

Hunt says a public debate would let voters size up the candidates side by side rather than relying on campaign events, advertisements or social media.

“Voters deserve to compare their representatives side by side, live and in person, away from the algorithms, on even ground. That’s what representation is supposed to be about.”

He argues debates remain essential to representative government.

“Healthy dialogue and debate is essential to a healthy democratic Republic, and was certainly the intent of the Founding Fathers.”

Hunt said he would debate anywhere, but believes the event should be held before a large public audience rather than at a tightly controlled campaign event.

“I’ll debate Keith Self anywhere, but I want a large public audience—not a carefully curated attendee list with minimal live participation. The whole point is to get in front of people. It’s the whole job, actually.”

Because roughly 80 percent of the district’s voters live in Collin County, Hunt said that’s where the debate belongs.

“Eighty percent of the vote is in Collin County, so I’d argue it should be in Collin County.”

Another Invitation

Hunt’s campaign wasn’t the only party seeking a debate.

James Jenkins, co-host of The McKinney Podcast, told TX3DNews the show formally invited Self to debate Hunt on two separate occasions but received no response. Jenkins said the podcast remains willing to moderate if both campaigns agree.

As of publication, no public debate between the candidates has been announced.

Who Would a Debate Serve?

Debates are often viewed through the lens of the candidates who gained ground, who stumbled, who landed the sharpest line. But they also serve the voters, offering a rare chance to see two people seeking the same office answer the same questions, in the same room, at the same time.

That audience may be larger than the general-election matchup alone suggests. In the March primaries, 48,800 Democrats chose Evan Hunt as their nominee. On the Republican side, 63,747 voters backed Keith Self, while another 15,761 Republicans supported challenger Mark Newgent.

Combined, that’s more than 64,500 primary voters who cast ballots for a candidate other than Self, Hunt on the Democratic side and Newgent on the Republican—before the general election campaign even began. Add the tens of thousands who turned out specifically to nominate Self, and well over 128,000 people had already weighed in on this race before the broader electorate began paying attention.

Those numbers don’t predict what will happen in November, nor do they indicate how anyone will ultimately cast their ballots. Primary voters tend to be the most engaged and partisan slice of the electorate, and many who backed a challenger in the spring may line up behind their party’s nominee in the fall. What the totals do show is that tens of thousands of voters across both parties were already invested in this race long before the general election began.

Will There Be a Debate?

TX3DNews asked Self’s campaign whether it received Hunt’s March invitation, whether it received the invitations from The McKinney Podcast, and whether the congressman plans to debate before November. As of publication, the campaign had not responded.

For now, Hunt says his invitation stands, and The McKinney Podcast says it is still willing to moderate if both sides agree.

With early voting still months away, there’s time for the campaigns to reach a deal. If a debate happens, it would give voters across Texas’ 3rd Congressional District their first chance this cycle to see the candidates answer the same questions on the same stage before casting their ballots.