Will they or won’t they? The debate over debates rages in Tarrant and Texas politics

There’s a lot of debate about debates going on lately.

Now state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, and his Democratic challenger Steve Riddell have jumped into the fray.

During a recent Twitter discussion, talk about a debate for the two of them arose in a number of tweets.

In one conversation, Democrat Heather Buen asked if that would be when “we can publicly see Stickland and ask him why he keeps running away from every candidate forum in HD 92.”

Michael Peyton jumped into the conversation, posting a GIF of a person on fire.

“Why does @RepStickland keep saying that people are lying and then not produce any evidence of such lies? Isn’t that the lie? His pants must be on fire.”

Stickland responded.

“Mr. Peyton, people are saying I’m dodging and canceling events,” Stickland responded. “Not only untrue (a lie) but the complete opposite of reality. Sorry if I call a spade a spade and it offends you. Facts don’t care about your feelings.”

“Easy to fix, have a debate,” Peyton replied.

Stickland responded: “Do you read before you throw out mud? I’ve been pursuing that for months. Details matter.”

Riddell jumped in to the conversation. “Let’s reserve the venue ourselves, right now, pending our location of a sponsor. I’ll pay half.”

Stickland had a different suggestion.

“Based on your last financial statement, you should let me pay it all,” he tweeted. “PS — we need a fair host and we must work around their schedule too. Don’t be short sided. We got time to plan your demise ;-)”

Hours later, some wondered on Twitter whether a debate between the two would actually happen.

“I think we can take him at his word — there will be a debate,” Riddell tweeted. “I’m excited!”

At stake in this race is a two-year term that pays $7,200 a year. This district includes Hurst, Euless, Bedford and parts of Arlington, Fort Worth and Grand Prairie.