Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, the Democratic nominee for governor, says he’s doing no more debates with Republican Eric Greitens unless Greitens releases his tax returns.
Koster made public his last four years of returns last week.
Greitens says he’s keeping his returns private, and he accuses Koster of backing out of any more debates because he’s “running scared’’ after their only joint appearance last week.
The campaigns for both men dug in on their stances by late Tuesday, underscoring that they weren’t shifting unless their rival did. It’s unclear if that will happen.
Koster began the dispute with his release Tuesday of a letter he sent to Greitens, in which he gave the Republican until 5 p.m. Thursday to release his returns. Koster said the tax returns are “pertinent information necessary for Missouri’s voters to assess what conflicts or contradictions exist between Mr. Greitens’ actual financial activity and his obligation should he be elected to serve as governor.”
Until Greitens’ returns are made public, Koster said he was suspending any debate talks.
The two had been scheduled to participate in a televised debate October 14 in St. Louis. Greitens has been pressing for far more.
So far, their only joint appearance has been the forum last week in Branson, which was hosted by the Missouri Press Association.
Greitens contended in his written reply that Koster was trying to avoid discussion of the issues. “Chris is clearly trying to hide the fact that he is a big-spending liberal who wants to raise taxes and expand Obamacare,” Greitens campaign said in a statement.
“…The bottom line is, Chris Koster is terrified of the movement behind Eric Greitens and is too scared to face him in another debate.”
Koster's campaign asserted that Greitens apparently was too scared to release his financial information.
