On Thursday, Mitt Romney‘s campaign announced that they had no plans to participate in a March 1 debate in Atlanta, sponsored by CNN and the Georgia Republican Party. The news was first reported by CBS News/National Journal.

In an e-mail, the Romney campaign said that they were unable to make the debate because of scheduling demands before the series of primaries and caucuses on March 6, known as Super Tuesday.

“Governor Romney will be spending a lot of time campaigning in Georgia and Ohio ahead of  Super Tuesday,” wrote Andrea Saul, a campaign spokeswoman. “With eight other states voting on March 6, we will be campaigning in other parts of the country and unable to schedule the CNN Georgia debate. We have participated in 20 debates, including eight from CNN.”