Rick Snyder, Virg Bernero to face off in first, only state gubernatorial debate Sunday

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The state’s gubernatorial candidates are on uneven ground going into Sunday’s debate — the only one of the election.

The debate will air on CMU Public Television, WCMU, WCML, WCMV, WCMW and WCMZ, throughout the majority of the Lower Peninsula and locally on WNEM DT-2 at 7 p.m. It will be hosted by the Center for Michigan in Detroit and moderated by Nolan Finley, editorial page editor of the Detroit News, and Stephen Henderson, editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press.

Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics and former Griffin Endowed Chair, said Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder has everything to lose and nothing to gain, while Democratic gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero has everything to gain and nothing to lose.

“If you’re Bernero you need to take risks,” Ballenger said. “He’s gotta do something to up the ante, or to provoke Snyder. He needs to do something dramatic, that will make a difference.”

Cullen Schwartz, spokesman for Bernero’s campaign, said the Lansing Mayor wants voters to compare jobs plan and records to Snyder’s.

“The main thing Virg hopes to accomplish is to give people a chance to compare the two candidates plans and records,” Schwartz said.

Ballenger said Bernero thinks himself to be a “world class debater.”

“For Bernero, in his own mind, the supporters mind, he’s got a high threshold to meet and I‘m not sure he will,” Ballenger said. “Snyder is not viewed as fast on his feet in a debate, his own ads say he’s a nerd. Expectations are low for him, so if he doesn’t do well, it won’t harm him.”

A representative of Snyder’s campaign said in an e-mail with Central Michigan Life he is not expected to be polished or quick with one liners, but Snyder has held 66 town halls throughout the state, so the Ann Arbor businessman does feel prepared.

“Voters hoping for a bare-knuckle brawl are in for a disappointment,” the representative said. “I expect we’ll see a sharp contrast between the two candidates.”