Sandoval mistaken, awkward phone call to ensue

A spokeswoman for the gubernatorial campaign of Brian Sandoval says the candidate was mistaken when he said Tuesday that negotiations for a debate with Rory Reid were already in the works.

Sandoval, the Republican nominee, said during a taping of the talk show Nevada NewsMakers that his campaign was in discussions with the campaign of Reid, the Democrat, to arrange debates.

"We are in discussions right now, the two campaigns," Sandoval told Nevada NewsMakers hosts Sam Shad and Ray Hagar. "We are going to debate three times this fall."

Reid's campaign said no such discussions have taken place and Sandoval spokeswoman Mary-Sarah Kinner confirmed it.

"Brian believed we had already reached out to Reid's campaign to figure out the best debate schedule for the fall," Kinner said. We have not yet done that, but will do so in the next week or so."

Reid, who polls show trails Sandoval by about 20 percentage points, has been pressing for as many as 10 debates. Sandoval has said he will agree to three, one each in southern, northern and rural Nevada.