AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Gov. Rick Perry’s Republican re-election campaign is balking at debating Democratic challenger Bill White.
A Perry campaign spokesman tells WFAA-TV of Dallas-Fort Worth that the governor wants White to release income tax returns for the past six years.
White campaign spokeswoman Katy Bacon says the demand shows Perry doesn’t want to face White in debate, but Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner says forcing White to be open to scrutiny is the real issue.
White has released his 2009 tax return and promises to release returns each year he runs for or holds statewide office, just as Perry has.
WFAA and The Dallas Morning News is trying to woo the two into a televised debate this fall. White has accepted that invitation, along with a separate one from Dallas public television station KERA.