While much of the attention regarding the race for the Senate has been put on Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, an unexpected battle has emerged in Washington.

Democrat Patty Murray, who was once thought to be safe, has found herself in a close race against Republican Tiffany Smiley. The only non-partisan poll of the cycle has Smiley down just three points, and Murray has been running scared for months, refusing to debate.

The Everett Herald, a local newspaper in the state, was set to hold a debate over Zoom between the two candidates before Murray refused. Astonishingly, the “journalists” involved bent the knee, agreeing to the Democrat’s demand to hold separate interviews, notably the same game Katie Hobbs is trying to play against Kari Lake in Arizona.

Smiley showed up for the “debate,” and she proceeded to go nuclear on both Murray and the editorial board for its capitulation.

The @EverettHerald asked the @MurrayCampaign and I to do a joint, in-person debate today.

Like she always does, my opponent refused. Sadly but predictably, the Herald caved to Murray's demands for separate Zoom interviews.

Watch what happened next: pic.twitter.com/zUfaMFjEUm

— Tiffany Smiley (@SmileyForWA) September 9, 2022

I’ll get to some of what Smiley said in a moment, but first, can we talk about how ridiculous it is to be holding something like this on Zoom in September of 2022? Why would the Everett Herald not do this in a live, public format? If the decision to do it on a video call was made because of COVID, then that says everything you need to know about the newspaper involved.

Regardless, Smiley came locked and loaded. She unleashed on Murray, pointing out that the Democrat has been in power for 30 years and all Washington has got out of it is managed decline. Seattle is a dumpster fire of a once beautiful city where crime and homelessness are out of control. The cost of living has exploded, and as Smiley also notes, fentanyl coming over the border has hit her state hard.

Within seconds, Smiley shifted gears, though. She began to speak about how she was raised to respect the journalism profession but that such respect isn’t due anymore. Here’s an excerpt from her remarks.

Smiley: This interview today was supposed to be Patty Murray and me sitting here, side by side, answering questions, debating the issues that are affecting our states, and helping our citizens to understand the choice that is in front of them, but Patty Murray bailed because she’s afraid to face me, afraid to face anyone who will point out the grave consequences of her failure to serve the people of Washington.

And you covered for her, accepting her demands and changing the format to help insulate Patty Murray from any sort of tough questioning. But because you won’t hold Patty Murray accountabile, I will.

She kept the flamethrower going from there, hitting Murray for being a “do-nothing” politician who hides from her own constituents. The entire time, the “journalists” involved sat there staring blindly, clearly not appreciating anything she was saying. No amount of shaming will ever change the corporate media because those in it possess no shame. The Everett Herald disgraced itself by allowing Murray to dictate the format of this debate, turning it into separate interviews.

I don’t know what happens in this race, and I’d suppose Murray is still pretty heavily favored. Smiley has shown herself to be a fighter, though, willing to call out the nonsense when she sees it. Anyone living in Washington should ask themselves whether they want real change on issues that matter or whether they want to send Murray back to DC for another six-year vacation.