Who dodged the debate? None other than 2-star, retired Admiral Joe Sestak, the Democratic congressman challenging former GOP congressman and former president of the Club for Growth, Pat Toomey. Instead, while Toomey answered Koppel's questions for an hour, Sestak attended a Pittsburgh fundraiser at the home of Democratic Senator John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz-Kerry. Some in the pro-business audience in Hershey speculated that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's tough anti-Sestak TV ads might have motivated Sestak to skip this one, a charge he denies. Commentators, including Democratic Governor Ed Rendell, seemed to agree that it was a mistake for Sestak, who trails both in the polls and in the money race.

Our guests this week include John Baer, columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News. Baer will moderate the next gubernatorial debate in Pittsburgh on October 16. Also with us are Matt Paul, a reporter for Radio Pennsylvania, a statewide, commercial radio network owned by WITF, and Barbara Barr, Lebanon County correspondent for our Election 2010 partner, WGAL-TV in Lancaster.

We'll also check in on the relatively sleepy race for the 17th Congressional District seat. GOP State Senator Dave Argall's hoping to ride a Republican wave and wash out Democratic incumbent Congressman Tim Holden. They will debate on October 20th, 8-9 p.m., live at WITF's Public Media Center. I will serve as moderator with three journalists also posing questions to the two candidates.

Please join us this Thursday at 8 p.m. as we share the latest polling numbers, TV ads, and campaign strategies. And, add your voice to the conversation: call in live, Thursday night, 1-800-729-7532, or send a question or comment to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .