The candidates for the 12th Congressional District seat traded barbs Wednesday afternoon, and debates in Statesboro and Augusta hang in the balance.
    The first public statement came from incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow’s campaign. Barrow spokesman Richard Carbo accused Republican challenger Lee Anderson, a state representative from Grovetown, of ducking the debates.
    “Lee Anderson has become very good at throwing stones from behind closed doors, but he’s afraid to face the voters of the 12th District,” Carbo said in a news release issued Wednesday. “Mr. Anderson and his friends want to run negative ads, but he’s not willing to defend these cheap political attacks. He should have the decency to come out and explain his support of plans to cut Medicare and raise taxes on over 80 percent of households.”
    Anderson’s campaign almost immediately returned fire. Anderson spokesman Ryan Mahoney accused Barrow of being dishonest with the voters about his political allegiances.
    “Congressman John Barrow is so fundamentally dishonest that he refuses to tell the people of Georgia’s 12th Congressional District who he’s supporting for President and who he would vote for as Speaker of the House,” Mahoney said in a news release. “Lee Anderson will consider sharing the stage with John Barrow once he stands in front of a local television camera and confesses his politically disastrous secret — he’s voting for Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.”
    Within the past two weeks, Carbo made this statement to the Savannah Morning News: “Mr. Barrow will vote for the top of the ticket.” Carbo affirmed that Barrow would vote for Obama to a Statesboro Herald reporter this week.
    Carbo pointed out to a Herald reporter that Barrow did not vote for Pelosi in 2011.
    Barrow voted for Pelosi for House speaker or Democratic leader three times — in 2005, 2007 and 2009. But in 2011, he voted for fellow Georgia Democrat John Lewis.
    Mahoney said Barrow needs to state his allegiance unequivocally and himself, not through a spokesman.
    “John Barrow continues to hide behind his spokesperson who states that the Congressman is voting for ‘the top of the ticket,’ ” Mahoney said in an email. “Clearly, they are avoiding a legitimate endorsement because they know how wildly unpopular President Obama is in Georgia’s 12th Congressional District.”
    In the statement issued Wednesday, Carbo said Barrow agreed to debates sponsored by WJBF-TV in Augusta and to one scheduled for Oct. 30 at the Averitt Center in Statesboro sponsored by the Herald. But Anderson has not agreed to either one.
    “Lee Anderson is up to his old tricks again — now he’s decided to duck and hide from the voters of the 12th District by not agreeing to debate,” Carbo said. “In the primary runoff, Lee Anderson refused to debate Rick W. Allen, and he's sticking with the same strategy for the general election.”
    Mahoney responded: “Barrow has had plenty of opportunities to express his support for the President on local television over the last several weeks (I believe he's interviewed with all of the major media outlets in Augusta) but fails to give a definitive answer. Makes you wonder why he's being so coy. And furthermore, makes you wonder what type of behavior he would exhibit at a public forum.”
    The issue first surfaced last week, when Mahoney said in an email to Jim Healy, the Herald’s operations manager, that Anderson “is not entertaining forum requests until our opponent stands in front of a television camera and lets the voters know who he’s supporting for president and speaker of the House. Providing an audience prior to that time further encourages Congressman Barrow’s dishonest behavior.”
    Healy said he hopes the two sides can reach an agreement and participate in a forum together.
    “There’s plenty of television ads and rhetoric from both sides,” Healy said. “I think it’s important for the voters to see both candidates interact with each other and answer questions about issues on a public stage together.”
    Anderson, a farmer, emerged as the winner in the 12th District Republican runoff last week, after Allen, an Augusta businessman, had asked for a recount in the close contest. Anderson won the four-way primary July 31, but he was well short of a majority, requiring the runoff.
    This race is one Republicans are optimistic about winning after the GOP-controlled state Legislature redrew the 12th District to cut out Democratic-leaning Savannah, which was Barrow’s home base, and include more Republican-leaning rural areas.
    Barrow, the last white Democratic congressman in the Deep South, moved to Augusta in March to be within the district’s new boundaries.
   
    Jason Wermers may be reached at (912) 489-9431.