"He’s kind of gone on the attack against me a couple times publicly. He’s still really mad about that debate question, so not sure he’s gonna come on anytime soon."
This shouldn’t take much time and, in fact, might add to the on-air conversation. The host can give real reasons why some of the polls about your market’s midterms are good or bogus, beyond “How can Candidate X be ahead?” or “You can’t believe any of the polls.”