CHEYENNE — Wyoming PBS has set its debate schedule for the 2026 election, but it will not include a debate for U.S. Senate because Republican candidate Rep. Harriet Hageman did not respond to an invitation to participate.
Democratic candidate James Byrd released a statement Thursday attacking Hageman for not participating in the debate.
“So, my opponent Harriet Hageman will not debate me. We have one word for that in Wyoming: (B.S.),” wrote Byrd, a former state lawmaker from Cheyenne.
In the statement, Byrd also challenged PBS to host an alternate forum instead of canceling the debate. He argued that canceling the broadcast entirely gives a nonresponsive campaign the ability to limit access to public media.
In a follow-up release sent out Friday morning, Byrd elaborated on his frustration with Hageman’s campaign, saying he was “launching a public campaign to keep public media accessible to the electorate.”
“Harriet Hageman won’t stand on a stage. She won’t return calls. She won’t even respond,” Byrd wrote. “And now her silence is about to cancel the one chance Wyoming voters had to see both Senate candidates side by side. You don’t get to represent this state if you won’t show up and defend what you believe in front of it. Silence isn’t leadership.”
Hageman campaign advisor Tim Murtaugh responded to Byrd in a written statement provided Friday to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle: “Representative Hageman will spend her time talking directly to voters as she has for the past five years. She prides herself on being an open and transparent representative for the state, which is why she will once again complete town halls for every county and proudly reports her voting record and recaps of her activity in her weekly newsletter.”
Hageman has not participated in a debate since she faced Liz Cheney in the 2022 Republican primary for the House seat she currently holds. This is the third general election she has failed to respond to requests from PBS to participate in a debate.
Wyoming PBS CEO Joanna Kail provided a statement to the WTE confirming Hageman did not respond to requests by the deadline.
“Wyoming PBS was unable to schedule a U.S. Senate debate. Both certified candidates for U.S. Senate were invited to participate in October. James Byrd’s campaign was the only candidate to confirm by the given deadline,” Kail wrote. “We did not receive a response from U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman’s campaign. Because Wyoming PBS does not host debates with only one candidate in attendance, the debate could not proceed.”
Byrd’s statement calls on PBS to provide an alternative to Wyoming voters, suggesting it pivot to a single-candidate town hall or an extended candidate interview in place of a debate.
The statement also notes that PBS leadership is “examining alternative coverage options beyond a two-candidate debate,” and that the Byrd campaign is hopeful for a solution.
The Byrd campaign also noted that something similar occurred during the 2026 primary election, when the Democratic debate was canceled for the same reason. PBS made additional efforts to contact Byrd’s opponent, Billy Benavidez, and was able to host the debate.
Byrd believes the same must be done in this case, and argued this action penalizes him unfairly.
“Allowing an opponent’s silence to automatically cancel the state’s only televised U.S. Senate debate penalizes the candidate willing to appear and leaves Wyoming voters without a platform to hear from their choices before November,” he wrote.
PBS will host debates between gubernatorial and secretary of state candidates Oct. 14, and U.S. House and state superintendent of public instruction candidates Oct. 15.
The debates will be moderated by Steve Peck of Wyoming PBS, and will feature panelists from Wyoming Public Media and Cowboy State Daily.
The debates will be held at the Riverton High School Auditorium, 2001 W. Sunset Drive. They will be open to the public and broadcast live on Wyoming PBS, in addition to being livestreamed on the Wyoming PBS YouTube channel.
The general election is Nov. 3, with early/absentee voting starting Oct. 6.