Stephanie Bice Town Halls Oklahoma

Stephanie Bice Debated Her Opponent at Least Three Times When She Was the Challenger. Now She 'Declines to Debate at This Time.'

Asked to debate her Democratic challenger in a race the challenger says a national pollster calls a dead heat, Stephanie Bice's campaign said no and pointed to her opponent's campaign debt. In 2020, when Bice needed the seat, she did at least three general-election debates. She also won't hold in-person town halls.

MAGA Report Cards · Oct 01, 2026

Stephanie Bice Debated Her Opponent at Least Three Times When She Was the Challenger. Now She 'Declines to Debate at This Time.' — Photo: official congressional portrait

Stephanie Bice has represented Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District since 2021. This fall, the Oklahoma City news site NonDoc offered to host a debate between her and her Democratic opponent, Jena Nelson. On Tuesday, September 29, Bice's campaign said no.

Here is the reason her spokesman, Wesley Harkins, gave:

"In response to your request for a debate, the Democratic opponent for Congressional District 5 failed to file the required FEC financial disclosure report in a timely and accurate fashion and has reported almost $40,000 in campaign debt per the last campaign filing."

He added that Bice "is campaigning across the district, meeting directly with voters and hearing their concerns," and "as such declines to debate at this time."

In other words: the congresswoman won't stand on a stage with her opponent, and the first reason her campaign gave was her opponent's campaign paperwork.

When she needed the seat, she debated

Bice wasn't always this busy. In 2020, when she was a state senator trying to unseat Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn, Bice took part in Republican primary and runoff debates, plus at least three general-election debates against Horn, NonDoc reported. She won with about 52% of the vote.

That's the same pattern we found with Julie Fedorchak in North Dakota: plenty of debates when she was running for an open seat, a flat no once the seat was hers.

The race isn't safe, and she knows it

Nelson, who got about 43% as the Democratic nominee for state superintendent in 2022, has been challenging Bice to debate for months. Her campaign gave NonDoc a copy of her FEC report filed September 20.

"It's unfortunate my opponent has decided to dodge her constituents for over five years without an in-person meeting," Nelson said. "It's beyond desperate that my millionaire opponent is using that as an excuse to avoid a debate in this race that a national pollster says is a dead heat."

Bice has her own reasons to worry. She was recorded telling a room of Republican students that a longtime Republican executive had told her "I have Trump fatigue," calling it "a fair statement," and that her bigger fear was Republicans staying home; when it leaked, her campaign said she was taken out of context.

No debate, no town hall

Bice's spokesman says she "remains accessible and engaged" through "community events to constituent meetings and telephone town halls."

On one of those telephone town halls in July 2025, a caller who said the calls are "carefully screened" asked her why she doesn't hold in-person town halls. The reason Bice led with was arithmetic: "I am never going to get that kind of engagement if I'm doing in-person town halls." She chairs the House subcommittee on modernization, which held a hearing last December on "The Future of Constituent Engagement with Congress."

So voters in the 5th District can't question her in a room, and now they won't see her answer her opponent on a stage either. She joins at least sixteen other Republicans on this site we've documented refusing to debate this year.

What we know

Stephanie Bice declined NonDoc's offer of a debate with Democratic challenger Jena Nelson on September 29, citing Nelson's campaign finance filings. In 2020, when Bice was the challenger, she took part in at least three general-election debates. She does not hold in-person town halls, and her opponent says the race is a dead heat.