Both of Virginia‘s gubernatorial candidates have accepted a fall debate against their opponent — just not the same one.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) accepted CNN’s invitation on Wednesday to a fall debate, while former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger accepted an invitation to participate in a debate hosted by AARP Virginia at Virginia State University.

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The candidates’ failure to agree to the same debate has complicated efforts to host an onstage matchup before early voting begins.

“Abigail formally accepted the statewide ‘People’s Debate’ more than a month ago with AARP Virginia, Virginia State University, WTVR-Richmond, WJLA-Northern Virginia, and WTKR-Norfolk — confirming her participation for September 16 at Virginia State University,” said Samson Signori, Spanberger’s campaign manager. “Unfortunately, her opponent declined to participate in this statewide debate.” 

Spanberger’s campaign did not address the Washington Examiner‘s question about whether she would agree to participate in the CNN debate in late September or early October. Voters will ask questions of the candidates during the debate, which network anchors will moderate.

“Winsome Earle-Sears is not afraid to answer tough questions and face Virginians head-on. This debate is an opportunity for voters to see the difference between a leader with a clear plan and a career politician who would rather talk around the issues,” Earle-Sears’s campaign spokeswoman Peyton Vogel told the outlet.

Vogel did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s question about why she declined the AARP Virginia-sponsored debate, which would have been the first time the historically black college hosted a gubernatorial debate. But her campaign signaled that scheduling conflicts prevented her from accepting the invitation. The debate has since been canceled after Earle-Sears declined.

“I think, from a strategic point of view, Sears probably was thinking that CNN would give her more exposure. It certainly would give her a national platform,” David Richards, a political science professor at the University of Lynchburg, told the Washington Examiner. “I’m not quite sure Spanberger’s objection at this point, except that maybe the terms are not quite what she wanted, and I don’t know what those terms are.”

The Virginia race is widely seen as a political bellwether ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The results from this year’s Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races will likely foreshadow what the national parties can expect from voters next year.

Spanberger won a coveted endorsement from the Virginia Police Benevolent Association this week, four years after it backed Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and Earle-Sears during the 2021 Virginia statewide races.

Youngkin’s debates against Democrat Terry McAuliffe in September 2021 proved to be pivotal as the two men clashed over parental rights in education. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” McAuliffe said, which the GOP seized upon and helped Youngkin flip the governor’s mansion red.

Earle-Sears has trailed Spanberger in polling and fundraising, making a debate one of the last big opportunities to make an impact on voters.

“I think at this point, Sears knows that she needs to get her message out to as many people as possible, because she just doesn’t seem to be connecting otherwise,” said Richards.

“We’re gonna be lucky to get one (debate),” said Richards. “And I’m not optimistic about that at this point, but the fact that Sears did say yes to CNN makes me think that Spanberger will probably come around.”

Early voting in Virginia begins Sept. 19.