J. William W. Harsch, the Republican candidate for attorney general, claims the Democratic incumbent, Patrick C. Lynch, is dodging debates.

Harsch last week accused Lynch of backing out of what would have been their first on-air debate — on a Channel 6 (WLNE) news program, ABC6 on the Record, hosted by Jim Hummel. The program was taped Thursday, with only Harsch present, and was set to air Sunday morning, Harsch campaign coordinator Tom Shevlin said.

With the general election set for Nov. 7, Harsch criticized Lynch for not committing to any debates.

“The office of attorney general is too important, and the issues at hand are too significant for Mr. Lynch to continue to dodge open debates,” Harsch said in a news release. “The voters of Rhode Island deserve answers to problems that the attorney general confronts on a daily basis. Accordingly, I am again challenging Mr. Lynch to debate — any time, any place, be it television, radio, classroom, coffee shop, street corner or sidewalk.”

Lynch’s campaign manager, Andrea Iannazzi, responded by saying, “Attorney General Lynch will absolutely be debating his opponent. We are not dodging anything.”

She said Lynch has received more requests than he can accommodate, but his campaign will review those requests and schedule debates soon.

Iannazzi said Lynch did not back out of the Channel 6 appearance. “Unfortunately, the attorney general had a prior commitment,” she said, adding that Lynch attended a ceremony paying tribute to police officers killed in the line of duty.

Shevlin said Lynch was offered the option of taping the program Thursday or Friday.

Harsch said he is disappointed but not surprised that Lynch has not debated him yet. “If I were Patrick Lynch, I wouldn’t want to engage in debate either,” Harsch said. “The fact is, over the last four years, Mr. Lynch has demonstrated that he [has] neither the professional ability nor the political willingness needed to effectively carry out his office.”

Harsch said his campaign has been approached for debates by groups such as the League of Women Voters, the George Wiley Center and talk radio programs. He said he has welcomed all debate invitations.