Alabama’s U.S. Senate special election is two weeks from today, and with polls pointing to a competitive contest, the red-state race has taken on national significance. This would ordinarily be the point at which local voters could expect to see the major party candidates debate one another on the campaign’s major issues.

Except in Alabama, that’s not happening. Doug Jones (D) has accepted debate invitations, but Roy Moore (R) has refused. It’s worth pausing to appreciate why.

Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore said Friday that he is refusing to debate his Democratic opponent Doug Jones because of Jones’s stance on transgender rights. In an interview with Sean Hannity on iHeartRadio, Moore said that Jones’s “very liberal” stance on transgender issues was behind the decision to skip a debate. “We’ve refused to debate them because of their very liberal stance on transgenderism and transgenderism in the military and in bathrooms. They are desperate,” Moore told Hannity.

Close video Alabama GOP standing by Roy Moore despite new lurid accusations Rachel Maddow relays reports that despite four new women coming forward today with stories of being pursued by Roy Moore as schoolgirls, the Alabama Republican Party is sticking with Roy Moore as their candidate for Senate. Rachel Maddow relays reports that despite four new women coming forward today with stories of being pursued by Roy Moore as schoolgirls, the Alabama Republican Party is sticking with Roy Moore as their candidate for Senate. share tweet email Embed

Take a moment to appreciate just how extraordinary this position is. Voters could benefit from hearing two U.S. Senate candidates discuss the issues, but Moore disagrees with Jones on civil rights, so therefore, there can be no debate.

In other words, Moore will only share a stage with candidates he agrees with, which suggests he may be a little confused about the whole point of debates.

For what it’s worth, my hunch is that “transgenderism” is not the real reason Moore refuses to debate Jones. It seems far more likely that the right-wing candidate expects to win in ruby-red Alabama, and participating in a debate he’s likely to lose creates an enormous risk.

Of course, the flip side is that Moore looks cowardly by ducking a debate, but it appears that’s a price he’s willing to pay.