Democratic congressional candidate Carl Marlinga criticized his Republican opponent, John James, for backing out of a debate he says was scheduled for next month.

Marlinga says James last week pulled out of a debate set for Oct. 24 in St. Clair Shores that he believes is a second recent example of James’ lack of transparency, referring to an ethics complaint filed against him last week.

“John James is clearly running scared,” Marlinga said in a news release. “First, he hides from voters by keeping them in the dark about his personal finances and now, he’s dodging a debate where he would have to answer for it. The people of Michigan deserve a representative who shows up, is honest and transparent, not someone who ducks and hides when things aren’t going his way.”

James’ spokesman, Noah Sadlier, said James does not wish to debate Marlinga again after the pair shared a stage two years ago.

“We debated last cycle. We beat him last cycle,” Sadlier said. “He (James) is not focused on previous losses for Marlinga.

“John wants to bring his message straight to the voters.”

Sadlier accused Marlinga of “lying” and telling “half-truths” at their debate two years ago, and pointed to a 2022 Marlinga quote in which he referred to the auto sector as a “dying industry.”

“What’s the point of having a debate with a guy who believes the auto industry is dying?” Sadlier said.

The debate would’ve been held at the VFW Bruce Post No. 1146, the same location one was held in October, 2022, according to Marlinga spokesperson Alan Fosnacht. A spokesman for the sponsoring organization did not return calls seeking comment.

Marlinga said the debate would’ve given James an opportunity to directly address a complaint filed last week by End Citizens United to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Office of Congressional Ethics over James’ failure to properly disclose 145 stock trades and file a financial disclosure on time, and violating the STOCK Act.

“If John James can’t show up to defend himself, how can he be trusted to represent voters’ interests in Congress?” Fosnacht said.

“James has proven he can’t be trusted,” Marlinga added. “He claims to champion integrity, yet he couldn’t even meet the basic requirements to disclose his own financial interests to his constituents. If he can’t follow the law, how can he be expected to uphold it?”

James said previously he was unaware of the trades because they took place under a financial trust “that functions as a blind trust,” according to his office, according to a Detroit News report.

“Last year, the trust’s administrator switched mutual funds to stocks and John was not aware of this,” Sadlier said in that story. “We learned about this last month when preparing this disclosure. The trust administrator has now divested all stocks and we will be filing information reflecting those sales shortly.”

James also wrote a letter to the U.S. House Clerk’s Office, which is responsible for financial disclosures, seeking to clarify the situation.

The two candidates are campaigning hard in what is expected to be a close race for the 10th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives after James defeated Marlinga two years ago by a half of a percentage point, about 1,600 votes. James received a little more than 500 more votes in Macomb County with the rest of the difference made up in Oakland County’s portion of the district in Rochester and Rochester Hills.

James, 43, of Shelby Township, is a business executive and former Army helicopter pilot. Marlinga, 77, of Sterling Heights, served as the Macomb County prosecutor for 20 years, a private practice attorney for 10 years and a county judge for 10 years.

The district, which has a population of 772,000, is composed of Macomb County south of Hall Road, Shelby Township, Utica, Rochester, Rochester Hills and a part of Macomb Township.

James raised $6.2 million as of last July while Marlinga, 77, of Sterling Heights, raised $628,000, according to Federal Election Commissioner reports.

But Marlinga’s campaign has received boosts from national Democratic organizations to try to keep up with James TV ad blitz with a commitment of several million dollars. The U.S House Majority PAC has committed about $3.7 million in airtime for the race this fall, including $1.74 to broadcast a pro-Marlinga ad that began airing about a week ago. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which was criticized two years ago for ignoring Marlinga, has reserved $1.7 million in ads, according to ad-tracking data, The Detroit News reports.

Meanwhile, James has already spent $1.3 million and has another $2 million in airtime booked, according to ad-tracking data, the same report adds.

James’ allies at the Congressional Leadership Fund also have about $1.6 million worth of airtime reserved, the report says. The conservative American Action Network has spent $1.1 million already.

James also recently touted the fact that he has gained passage by the House of the most bills of any of the 74 freshman members of Congress.

“John James is fighting to protect auto jobs, helping those fighting drug addiction and mental health issues get expanded access and assistance, and pushing back against job-killing policies coming out of the Biden-Harris Administration,” Sadlier said.

The bills include the Soo Locks Security and Economic Reporting Act, Disclose GIFTs Act, Road to Recovery Act, Biden Joint Employer Rule Resolution, Global Anti-Human Trafficking Enhancement Act, TELEMH Act and Tailpipe Emissions Resolution, according to Sadlier.