On October 3, the Brunswick County Democratic Party released a joint statement claiming local Republicans had refused to participate in candidate forums. The party criticized U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, state senator Bill Rabon, and county commission candidates Pat Sykes, Mike Forte, and Frank Williams, saying they had ignored or rejected invitations to public forums. Shelley Allen, who leads BCDP, called their lack of response "a real threat to democracy."
But one Republican candidate told WHQR that this election season — the county's most contested in recent years – many voters are too hostile to watch a debate.
Missing opponents
Brunswick Democrats specifically called out U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, who they said hadn't appeared in a town hall with a Democratic challenger since 2017. The party alleges that this year, the congressman has ignored multiple requests from his opponent Marlando Pridgen to engage in a public debate.
The county Democratic party says state and local representatives have also been rejecting their invitations. They told WHQR that the Republican candidates for Brunswick County Commission — Frank Williams, Pat Sykes, and Mike Forte — would not agree to a debate with their Democratic challengers. State senator Bill Rabon, they allege, has also ghosted them.
"Unicorns are seen more often [than Rabon]," their joint statement reads.
Allen added that by refusing to participate, Republican candidates were "effectively shutting down these events."
"The organizations that would normally hold them — the League of Women Voters, media organizations, AARP, Sierra Club, and others — do NOT wish to hold functions without both parties’ participation," she wrote. "This decision has the unintended consequence of one party being able to exercise veto power over public discussion and to successfully muzzle opponents.”
The AARP of Wilmington and the Coast and the League of Women Voters of the Lower Cape Fear both confirmed to WHQR that their organizations abandoned plans to hold voter town halls after GOP candidates failed to respond. Rosalie Calarco, who leads the AARP of Wilmington and the Coast, said that as a nonpartisan organization, the AARP could not hold a forum unless both parties agreed to one.
"Unfortunately, we were not able to get in touch with all of the candidates, therefore we were unable to host the forum," she wrote.
Spitting mad
On October 14, Rouzer was scheduled to appear at a NAACP ‘meet and greet’ in Columbus County, alongside his opponent, Pridgen, two Democratic politicians, and Whiteville mayor Terry Mann. But the congressman never showed. He did not answer multiple requests from WHQR for comment, nor did he explain his absence elsewhere.
Rabon has been invited to multiple candidate forums co-hosted by WHQR, Port City Daily, and WECT, including one that took place this year on October 9. Rabon has never appeared. This year, he declined, citing a scheduling conflict with a leadership conference. He did not answer multiple press inquiries from WHQR about this article.
Brunswick County Republican Party chair Bill Moore was unable to comment on Rabon and Rouzer's decisions to turn down forum invites. Moore told WHQR that the party had no say over the commissioners' choice to participate — or not participate — in community town halls.
"They as a group decided not to, and that's their decision, not the party's," he said. "They have their own rights to do what they want to do there. You know, it's individual parties. We support whoever wins, but we don't control their campaigns."
WHQR has repeatedly contacted Sykes, Williams, and Forte with questions about their campaigns and about their participation in candidate forums. The only candidate to respond so far is Forte, who has served as county commissioner for nearly a decade. Forte confirmed that he turned down an invite to a forum this year. His reasoning was simple.
"This is the nastiest election I have ever seen," he said.
Forte told WHQR that his constituents have grown increasingly hostile over topics like overdevelopment and the environment. Normally, the anger is kept confined to the ballot box or to online communities. But lately, it's gotten physical.
"The other day, I was walking into Lowes' Foods, and this woman… she said, 'Are you a commissioner?' I said, 'Yes, ma'am. I'm Mike Forte, is there something I can help you with?' And she said, 'I hate you. I can't wait until we vote you out of office,'" he said. "Then she hocked a loogie on my chest."
Forte told WHQR he'd be interested in a candidate forum hosted by a media organization like WECT or WWAY. But he said the League of Women Voters (LWV), which is a nonpartisan organization, still struck him as biased. The last LWV forum he attended drew a mostly Democratic crowd — one he said was disrespectful and rowdy.
"We just feel like that particular group is incredibly biased. They claim not to be, but they're anything but," he said. "They just slammed me nonstop."
Barbara Burrell from the LWV told WHQR that wasn't the case.
"I can assure you Mr. Forte was not slammed," she wrote. "The league's policy is to ask all candidates the same question. The league never responds to an individual answer or challenges them."
Changing county
There's another reason why Forte is avoiding candidate forums this year.
"There's really no advantage to an incumbent getting into a debate," he said. "Why would I give them a forum?"
Every Republican candidate name-checked in the BCDP's statement is also an incumbent. And candidate town halls are not usually favorable to incumbents. Not only do they give voters a chance to meet the alternatives, but they give voters license to grill their elected officials about their legislative work.
"That's the problem — it's that the incumbents do not feel that they need to answer to the public," Allen told WHQR. "And I think that's an insult to voters, to just assume that [because] you're the incumbent, you don't have to ask for their votes anymore."
And this year, Brunswick County's incumbents are up against a lot. It’s not uncommon for Democrats to oppose overdevelopment, particularly for environmental reasons, in Brunswick County. But lately, that cause has started to transcend party lines. During this year's primaries, Republican Erik Tammaru challenged incumbent Williams with a hardline stance against clearcutting. Bob Fulton, who will be running against Sykes as an independent this year, has advocated for similar measures, saying the current commission has not done enough to protect the environment.
According to Allen, Fulton is not alone in thinking that.
"We have seen and met many Republicans and groups that were started by Republicans concerned about these local issues, and the way development has just run rampant and unchecked in this county," she said. "We have many Republicans who are saying they're going to vote for our commissioner candidates because they feel a change is needed. They feel they've been disrespected."
Forte told WHQR that it's also a common thread with his more confrontational constituents.
"It's all about overdevelopment and clear-cutting," Forte said.
Historically, Republicans have dominated Brunswick County politics. And according to the State Board of Elections, Republicans still take the largest share of voter registrations, with over 53,000 reported in 2024. That's nearly twice as many registered Democrats.
What remains to be seen is whether those voters will stick to party lines or cross over. Forte couldn't say what he thought the outcome would be. He did tell WHQR he'd still answer voters' questions, even if they were less than civil.
"I'll answer my phone, I'll answer my emails, I'll answer my texts," he said. "Hey, I'm a kid from the Bronx. I can take it."
