It was great to learn that U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., and challenger Alex Law have agreed to a debate before they square off for the Democrats' First District House of Representatives nomination in the June 7 primary.

Debates for regional and countywide offices in New Jersey were a routine part of elections during the 1970s and 1980s. While debates for governor and U.S. Senate are ongoing, face-offs for offices farther down the South Jersey ballot have become hit-and-miss.

There are a number of reasons for this, including a personnel implosion in the mainstream media. Newspapers and broadcasting outlets that were often sponsors no longer have enough warm bodies to get involved with multiple debates.

Also, League of Women Voters groups seem to have tired of the hassles of scheduling reluctant candidates. U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd Dist., spent the last few elections sidelining marginal Democrat challengers to the point that he acted as if they didn't exist. A high-profile debate publicizes the underdog.

In the First District this year, Norcross, who is finishing his first full term, has a spirited primary challenge from Law, a 25-year-old Bernie Sanders fan. According to the Gloucester County NAACP, they've agreed to show up at 6 p.m. June 2 at the Rowan College of Gloucester County Fine Arts building in Deptford Township.

Kudos to the NACCP for building upon what might have been just another interest-group appearance. The NAACP has also invited Bob Patterson, the only Republican running for the House seat, to participate on June 2.

Even more positive is that the NACCP has asked the League of Women Voters of New Jersey to supply a moderator, which should ensure a genuine debate format. Also, the NAACP branch has partnered with several co-sponsors to widen the debate's appeal. Among them are the Jewish Community Relations Council of South Jersey, the Camden County East NAACP and the Islamic Center of South Jersey.

Races that command lots of attention do so because leading candidates spend oodles on TV ads. The ads supply information, but it's biased and often untrue. A better way for voters to educate themselves is to see how candidates answer questions on the spot and react directly to opponents' claims. Most of us are sick of presidential debates, but they show that the format can unearth prime nuggets of information when executed properly.

A House debate on June 2, just five days before polling, is not ideal. Many voters will have completed absentee ballots earlier. And, the date is so close to the election that Norcross -- if he deems it necessary -- could already have buried Law under hundreds of thousands of dollars in TV ads.

These are minor quibbles, though, in rooting for the success of a true debate. We're hopeful that Patterson and either Law or Norcross will be back for another debate this fall, and that the Gloucester County NAACP has found a sponsorship nucleus to sustain these clashes for years to come.

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