Next Step: Debates

Starkville Daily News - Third Congressional District race may see four debates - Debates give voters a chance to see how candidates will respond without a script and ballot casters in Mississippi’s Third Congressional District may get four such chances before the March primary, an official said. The John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University will do some preliminary work on four possible debates involving candidates for the district’s seat, said Dr. Marty Wiseman, MSU professor and the center’s director.

“(Debates) give you a chance see a candidate, warts and all. It creates an opportunity to see how well a candidate will respond to a non-scripted situation,” Wiseman said. This is important for a member of Congress because “you’re under pressure the minute you get up there (Washington),” Wiseman said. With troops committed around the world, representatives make decisions about that and “We depend on our congressional delegation to create advantages for the state of Mississippi; That kind of ability to think on your feet and on the move – You can get a slight indication of that during a debate,” Wiseman said.

Stennis Institute personnel “have demonstrated our ability to understand how these things work and pull them off in a fair and equitable manner,” Wiseman said, noting the debates this year in the gubernatorial and commissioner of agriculture races at the state level.“There are a lot of little details involved. We’ve got folks here at the Stennis Institute that are up to it,” Wiseman said. “... As the major university in the 3rd District, I think Mississippi State has a responsibility through the Stennis Institute to offer itself to reach the entire district as best we can,” he said. Tentative locations for the debates would be the MSU campus in Starkville, the MSU campus in Meridian, a site in the Jackson area and “hopefully” one in Natchez, Wiseman said. Ideally, there would be two debates in January and two in February, he said.
Stennis personnel will get as much preliminary work done as possible, then on Jan. 12, they “will be working to make the final preparations to move ahead with the debate,” Wiseman said.