State Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, and Neil Makhija, his challenger in the upcoming general election, both agree that they should debate before Election Day.

Makhija is running to unseat the three-term incumbent in a district that roughly follows the borders of Carbon County.But the two have different ideas about how many times they should debate, and what format to follow.The issue came to light Friday when Makhija - with a television news crew in tow - presented Heffley with a letter challenging him to five debates.Heffley, who called the move "gotcha politics," refused to accept the letter. He says he prefers a single, televised debate, which he said has been the format in his past races."My thought is to do one professional legitimate debate that discusses the real issues affecting the people of Carbon County," Heffley said.Makhija made a public display Friday by delivering a letter to Heffley's campaign office in Lehighton, with supporters and a crew from a Scranton TV station alongside. Makhija said that he wanted the public to know where both candidates stand on debating.A series of smaller debates around the county would better capture voters' opinions, Makhija said. He said he has already had multiple offers from constituents who want to hold debates."We're not a national election. It doesn't need to be on TV for every debate. We're in a small enough district where our voters can actually meet us," Makhija said.In regard to Friday's incident, the Democratic challenger said he didn't know Heffley would be outside his campaign office when he delivered the letter. The camera crew was intended to get the challenge on record.Makhija said that he was concerned that Heffley was trying to avoid a substantiative debate with him."He as a politician should not be under the impression that he has a lifetime appointment," he said. "Whether it's the budget debacle - where they got paid 11 months - or the drug overdose crisis - people should have a chance to ask him about his record."Heffley released a statement in response to the incident, saying that Makhija was engaging in "gotcha" campaign tactics and that he is more focused on social media posts than the concerns of residents."It's all about civility, it's what's missing in politics, and he doesn't understand that," he said when reached by phone.Heffley's statement went on to say that Makhija's proposal of five debates around the county would be confusing. He said he favors a single, televised debate run by a responsible local organization like the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce.He again brought up Makhija's residency. Earlier this year, Makhija successfully defended a challenge to knock him off the ballot because he lived in Boston while attending Harvard Law School."The people of Carbon County know, and if he had lived in Pennsylvania over the last eight years, he would know that I have agreed to debate all of my opponents," Heffley said.