Republican Congressman Tom Cotton and Democratic Senator Mark Pryor will debate in Fayetteville on Oct. 14 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in a one-on-one forum.
The debate, sponsored by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, will be broadcast live on KATV, KATV.com, KAIT in Northeast Arkansas and KHBS/KHOG in Northwest Arkansas. The debate will originate from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville’s Global Campus.
Roby Brock from Talk Business and Politics will be the moderator, and KATV’s Scott Inman, KAIT’s Diana Davis, KHBS/KHOG’s Angela Taylor will be on a panel asking questions of the candidates.
The Fayetteville Chamber Senate debate is the only agreed-upon debate between Cotton and Pryor to be broadcast live.
Pryor and Cotton are squaring off in a hotly-contested race for the U.S. Senate. The race has drawn national interest. The debate will center on domestic issues.
“Arkansans deserve this debate, and it’s time Congressman Cotton finally stand and answer for his irresponsible votes to raise the age to 70 for Medicare and Social Security, end affordable student loans and slash funding for Arkansas Children’s Hospital, even as he voted to give tax breaks to billionaires like those bankrolling his political ambitions,” said Sen. Mark Pryor.
“We are pleased that after months of ducking debates and running from reporters, Senator Pryor will finally have to defend his record of rubber-stamping President Obama’s agenda over 90% of the time. It’s unfortunate that Senator Pryor specifically objected to including any discussion of foreign policy in this debate. Arkansas’s 6,000 active duty military personnel, 4,000 military civilians, and approximately 250,000 veterans deserve an explanation from Senator Pryor as to why his support for President Obama’s national security policies aren’t worthy of debate in a race for the U.S. Senate.” said Cotton spokesman David Ray.
“The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce is honored that Senator Pryor and Congressman Cotton have agreed to accept our invitation to debate in Fayetteville. Our Chamber makes every effort to provide Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas voters with the opportunity to become better informed about the issues and candidates. We thank these candidates for agreeing to debate and know this will be an important evening for all Arkansans,” said Steve Clark, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce President and CEO.