A debate between the two candidates running to permanently succeed retired Senator Thad Cochran is one step closer to happening. MPB's Ezra Wall reports.
Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is accepting an invitation to debate Democrat Mike Espy a week before a November 27th runoff election. The November 20th debate is being organized by the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. Hyde-Smith says she's looking forward to it.
"I enjoy debates. I really do. We will set up a debate and Mr. Espy is just one that I look forward to debating," says Hyde-Smith. "To get in there and let both people have the contrast between the two of us and the opinions out of our own mouths."
It was the Espy campaign that first called for the debate in a letter from the Democratic former Secretary of Agriculture. Campaign Manager Oleta Fitzgerald told MPB News it's important for the people to see both candidates together.
"Come out and let Mississippians see the two candidates side by side," says Fitzgerald. "If you're strong, you shouldn't have any problem facing the Mississippi people and letting them know what you stand for."
But what about the November 20th Farm Bureau debate? The Espy campaign says tells the Associated Press it's reviewing the "terms and conditions" before deciding whether to accept the invitation.
