High-stakes debate between Ferguson and Crane marked by tense moment

Sometimes you have to play hardball, especially when the prize in one of the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Friday morning, Republican runoff candidates Mike Crane, a state senator, and former West Point Mayor Drew Ferguson were in the Georgia Public Broadcasting studios for a debate.

Even though there is a Democratic challenger, it was clear that one of these Republicans will represent the Georgia Third, arguably the most conservative district in the state.

Ferguson won the race Tuesday, but what happened during the Atlanta debate is worth noting because it was not only “inside baseball,” but it also offered a glimpse into the campaign philosophies.

The panelists were myself, Newnan Times-Herald editor Winston Skinner and Atlanta freelance journalist Maggie Lee.

One of the main issues in the campaign was advertising attacks and counterattacks over controversial remarks Crane made to a Newnan Republican group in the early days of the campaign.

Crane said: “When the judge comes along and says you can kick down that man’s door, you can throw a flash grenade in that baby’s crib, you can do whatever you want and kill a lady that comes to the door because she’s afraid someone has entered her house illegally. If you come to my house, kick down my door, if I have an opportunity I will shoot you dead. And everyone of you should do the same.”

It is clear Crane’s comments were about no-knock search warrants, but Ferguson’s camp put a target on Crane’s back by insisting he had put a target on the backs of law enforcement officers who execute these warrants.

Not surprisingly, the first two questions, asked by myself and Skinner, were about Crane’s comments. Then something unexpected happened. The moderator, Celeste Hadley, halted the debate as Crane was answering a question posed by his opponent. She cited audio issues.

Ferguson spokesman Dan McLagan became concerned when one of the possible solutions was starting the debate over from the beginning.

“That was not going to happen,” McLagan said on Wednesday, basking in the glow of the win.

The reason was the first question to Crane was about the no-knock warrants and whether he would respond differently if given the opportunity.

“In my opinion, Crane inexplicably looked unprepared and he looked nervous,” McLagan said. “He gave a terrible answer.”

The Ferguson people fought to keep the first two questions as they originally transpired. And they won. The fix, after a more than half-hour delay, was to use the first two questions as asked and answered despite the audio issues. The 30-minute debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club resumed with the candidates asking questions of each other.

“When your opponent blows an answer you should not get a do-over,” McLagan said. “It’s a debate.”

There is no debating that.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 5:02 PM with the headline "High-stakes debate between Ferguson and Crane marked by tense moment."