Campaign stunts like these are usually pulled by long-shot challengers desperate for publicity — but this time, it was the work of 14-year GOP incumbent Deborah Pryce against Dem challenger Mary Jo Kilroy. The Columbus Dispatch reports that Pryce showed up unannounced at Kilroy's campaign headquarters on the back of a flatbed truck, flanked by supporters. Pryce then challenged Kilroy to a "sidewalk debate" on the Medicare D benefit. When Kilroy (who wasn't there) didn't respond, Pryce boasted: "Well, maybe she’ll show up another time." The implication was that the absent Kilroy was afraid to debate. But there's a small problem with this.

The problem is that it turns out that Pryce may have known beforehand that Kilroy wouldn't be there. A Kilroy staffer has told Election Central that Pryce's staff had previously issued the "sidewalk debate" challenge in advance — and had been told by Kilroy's staff that Kilroy wouldn't be in the office that day. So Pryce showed up at the Kilroy campaign offices to announce the challenge — even though her own staff knew Kilroy wouldn't be there. The above YouTube was produced by the Kilroy campaign.