With less than four weeks remaining before the Nov. 5 vote, Democrat Charles "Champ" Walker Jr. and Republican Max Burns have yet to meet face-to-face in a true debate.

On Sunday night at a Georgia Public Television debate, Mr. Burns answered questions standing next to an empty podium intended for use by Mr. Walker, who was a no-show.

The Athens and Savannah chambers of commerce have each scheduled debates - for Tuesday and for Oct. 30. The Walker camp has not confirmed either.

"Max would really like to know if quite frankly (Mr. Walker) is afraid to debate us," Burns campaign spokeswoman Anne Forbes said. "How is he going to speak on the House floor and represent the people in Washington if he can't even do it at home?"

Walker campaign manager Doug Moore said Mr. Walker is willing to debate any time - if his schedule allows. The television debate conflicted with a planned campaign office opening, he said. Mr. Moore said Mr. Walker wanted to see who the panelists would be before confirming attendance at the chamber events.

"We want to make sure who is going to be there before we get ambushed by any unfair questions," Mr. Moore said. "We have a schedule that is packed to the brim with stuff. Some things we can go to; some things we cannot."

Bill Shipp, co-chairman of the press club, which sponsored Sunday's debate, said Mr. Walker turned down the opportunity without an explanation more than a month ago.

"He obviously doesn't have very much confidence in his debating ability," Mr. Shipp said. "Most candidates would jump through hoops to get statewide exposure."

Mr. Moore said Mr. Burns has dodged at least two debates in the past month - a call-in radio debate in Athens and a forum in Augusta. He said there was a third but could not remember the details surrounding it.

A Burns spokesman responded that a technical problem would not allow Mr. Burns to call the radio show. The spokesman also said Mr. Burns was informed of the Augusta forum at the last minute while he was in Savannah.

The two candidates did appear together Tuesday night at an Augusta forum where they were allowed to make three-minute remarks.

The television commercials both candidates have begun airing take a similar approach. Mr. Walker warns in his ad that Mr. Burns wants to do away with Medicare - a contention Mr. Burns denies.

Mr. Burns asserts that around the time Mr. Walker's father, Senate Majority Leader Charles Walker Sr., was lobbying for higher Medicaid payments for health screeners, the younger Mr. Walker was receiving a private briefing from state officials on how to set up a company that would receive those payments.

The senior Mr. Walker responded Tuesday night by calling Mr. Burns a "pathological liar."

Savannah League of Women Voters Chairwoman Judy Jennings said Mr. Walker's refusal to debate leaves her organization in a "quandary."

The nonpartisan organization's goal is to educate voters, she said, but how do you do that when you can't get the candidates together?

"When a candidate gets the reputation for not showing up, it does put us in a bad situation," she said. "We don't want it to be perceived that the league is organizing a one-man show. A candidate has the right to run his campaign any way he wants. It just forces us to be a little more creative."