What Does It Mean If Republicans Won’t Debate? | FiveThirtyEight

…The larger stakes of this decision, though, are whether the Republican Party can continue to pull out of institutions that it can't control, without facing much in the way of consequences. This is especially significant to the key democratic values that are on display in these events. Candidates show their acceptance of legitimate opposition by appearing on stage in a civil exchange with their opponents. For the major two parties, this has generally been a steady feature of debates, even when they're heated. They also signal their commitment to accountability by submitting to moderators' questions, displaying for the voters what they do and don't know, and how well they're able to perform under pressure. But in this case, the GOP is taking an old, bipartisan tradition of discomfort with that scrutiny to a new level…

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-does-it-mean-if-republicans-wont-debate/