The race for mayor in Philadelphia inevitably has become a debate about debates

Every general election for mayor in Philadelphia eventually comes around to a debate about debates.

Should the Democratic nominee, in a city where that party’s voters outnumber Republicans 7-1, give the GOP nominee a platform as large as a televised debate?

History says: sometimes.

And Cherelle Parker, who won the crowded Democratic primary for mayor in May, is not ready to say whether she’ll give her former City Council colleague, Republican nominee David Oh, any shared screen time.

» READ MORE: Who’s running for mayor of Philadelphia? What to know about Cherelle Parker, David Oh, and the election.

Parker has good reason to take her time. A debate for her is all risk and, potentially, all reward for Oh.

“Cherelle Parker has never refused to debate anyone, but right now we’re focused on taking our message directly to the voters,” said Aren Platt, a Parker spokesperson who tiptoed around Clout’s direct question about whether she would debate Oh.

Oh’s ambitions are sizable. He wants 10 debates, one in every City Council district. (Clout prediction: Never gonna happen.)

“Debates are important because anyone who is running for mayor owes an explanation to the people in this city, whether they vote or don’t vote,” Oh said. “The process is important in getting the public on board.”

Oh said he has heard from 6abc, CBS3, WHYY, and some nonprofits about hosting debates while Parker has remained mum.

Democrats have a mixed history of engaging with opponents in mayoral races.

Jim Kenney was cruising to a second term in 2019 when he decided to completely ignore the Republican challenger, Billy Ciancaglini. The voters who showed up that November didn’t hold it against him: Kenney won four out of every five votes.

Oh said he’s a different kind of candidate than Ciancaglini, who had previously run as a Democrat for judge but had no public record to examine.

“I’m a three-term Council person who has served the city and has been vetted,” Oh said.

Kenney, running for an open mayor’s seat in 2015, was more open to candidate forums that year but eventually blew up a proposed televised debate with Republican political novice Melissa Murray Bailey by insisting on demands that NBC10 found too onerous to oblige.

Democrat Mike Nutter, while seeking a second term as mayor in 2011, faced Republican Karen Brown in one contentious televised debate.

Nutter’s 2007 campaign interactions with Republican nominee Al Taubenberger were so collegial that it called into question whether they should be called debates.

Philadelphia hasn’t seen an authentic general election debate for mayor since 2003′s rematch between Republican Sam Katz and then-Mayor John Street.

Clout’s prediction: Oh will get one televised debate with Parker some time after Labor Day and not one more second of attention if she can avoid it.

Gov. Josh Shapiro is quick to bat back questions about national political aspirations in his first year as governor.

But he’s also headed to the early voting state of New Hampshire next month to headline a conference where the likes of Barack Obama and other aspiring presidential candidates have spoken.

The New Hampshire Democrats announced this week that Shapiro will be the keynote speaker at their fall convention, a Sept. 30 gathering described by the group as ”a premier Democratic political event in the country.”

“Every national Democratic leader in the last 50 years has spoken at a NHDP convention, attracting sitting presidents, vice presidents, potential presidential candidates,” the release said.

A spokesperson for Shapiro said he’ll talk about his campaign and beating state Sen. Doug Mastriano ahead of New Hampshire’s own battle for an open gubernatorial seat next year — expected to be one of the most competitive in the nation.

“In Pennsylvania, we defeated extremism and showed the rest of the country what it looks like to come together behind a vision for a better future,” Shapiro said in a release. “New Hampshire voters face a similar choice next November.”

Shapiro is also expected to tout President Joe Biden’s record and along with it, likely a favorite topic — the I-95 bridge collapse and coordination between the governor and the White House to build a temporary bridge in less than two weeks.

Shapiro was the face of the nationally watched repair effort, which has also become a talking point in Biden’s reelection campaign.

A Franklin and Marshall College Poll released this week was stuffed with sobering news for Biden and former President Donald Trump.

First off, they’re not very popular. Just 30% of the 723 Pennsylvania voters surveyed said Biden is doing an excellent or good job as president. And 64% had an unfavorable view of Trump.

Trump and Biden are essentially tied in a 2024 general election matchup, according to the poll, with a margin of error plus or minus 4.5 points.

Trump holds an 18-point lead in the Republican primary, but his two federal indictments do not necessarily endear him to voters overall, with 58% calling his attempt to overturn the 2020 election a serious crime and 35% saying it was not a serious crime.

On his charges of mishandling classified documents, 42% said he should drop out of he race now while 20% said he should drop out if convicted, and 33% said he should stay in the race no matter what happens.

The poll reflects slumping approval ratings for the two politicians around the country, which some GOP primary candidates are using as ammunition in their bids for the White House.

“We have to look at the fact that three-quarters of Americans don’t want a rematch between Trump and Biden,” former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Wednesday at the first GOP debate. “And we have to face the fact that Trump is the most disliked politician in America. We can’t win a general election that way.”

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.