It's starting to be debate season, by which we mean that the candidates are throwing sand over whether and when and how frequently they'll appear together in public so voters and political voyeurs can compare and contrast the competitors.

Pete Olson, running against U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, says it's not right that Lampson has agreed to only one debate, and in Clear Lake. That's an affront, according to the Republican challenger, to Fort Bend, Brazoria, and Galveston. Olson wants to debate in all four districts in the county.

Ernie Casbeer wants to debate Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, so he can ask him in public about the Texas Association of Business indictments in which Miller is mentioned along with 24 other candidates. No resolution there yet.

And Rep. Juan Garcia, D-Corpus Christi, says former Rep. Todd Hunter, his Republican challenger, backed out of a debate scheduled for September 22.

• Garcia's campaign (along with others) is touting a match offered by Austin Sen. Kirk Watson, who's taking sort of a Sally Struthers approach to legislative elections. He's got a website — AdoptAHouseCandidate.com — listing 26 Texas House candidates and offering to match small donations. He's capping his matches at $5,000 and is asking donors to give $20.08. They're all Democrats, as he is, and his list includes four challengers, six open set candidates and 16 incumbents. That's a way, among other things, to stack up favors if you want to someday run for statewide office. Not that anyone's saying anything like that.

• Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst already has a statewide office, but he, like U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, is helping Texas statehouse candidates raise money. His latest assist goes to Mike Anderson, the former Mesquite mayor who beat Rep. Thomas Latham in the primaries. Anderson has a Democratic opponent, Robert Miklos, in a contest targeted by both parties.

• A Republican consultant fired up a website taunting Democrats who've received contributions from Dallas attorney Fred Baron. GiveTheMoneyBack.com belongs to Anthony Holm, who works for the Austin-based Patriot Group and also is the media rep for Houston homebuilder Bob Perry. Baron is the biggest contributor to Texas Democrats; Perry is the biggest contributor to Texas Republicans. He says candidates who got money from Baron ought to pay it back now that Baron has admitted paying to relocate a woman who had an affair with former presidential candidate John Edwards. Baron's money overwhelmingly goes to Democrats (see here and here), but there are a couple of other names on his list from a couple of election cycles back: Baron gave $2,000 to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in 2003, and Baron & Budd, his law firm (he's sold his interest) gave $5,000 each to Dewhurst and to House Speaker Tom Craddick in 2003 and 2002, respectively.