Days before the midterm election, the University’s Manship School of Mass Communication will host the final televised U.S. Senate debate for Louisiana candidates Wednesday.
The debate will be held in the Holliday Forum of the Journalism Building from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. According to a poll conducted by Raycom Media, three candidates — Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republicans U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy and Rob Maness — qualified to participate with more than 5 percent in the poll.
Landrieu qualified with 36 percent in the poll, Cassidy with 32 percent and Maness with 6 percent.
Robert Ritter, director of LSU Student Media, said the poll was open to the public between Oct. 14 to 19 and the results were released Oct. 20.
The Manship School, Raycom Media, public radio station WRKF of Baton Rouge and Student Government are co-sponsoring the debate.
With football and politics meeting in typical Louisiana fashion, a live stream of the debate will be aired in the Lawton Room in Tiger Stadium.
The debate will be moderated by WVUE New Orleans broadcaster John Snell along with four panelists, including SG President Clay Tufts, WRKF News Director Amy Jeffries and two other Raycom broadcasters.
When discussing topics and questions for the debate, Tufts said the panelists took into consideration the candidates’ campaigns and voting records and hot political news.
Tufts said he expects Wednesday’s debate to accumulate the highest viewership of any of the previous debates between these candidates.
“We want to remind the candidates that if they are elected they will have this major flagship university in their constituency,” Tufts said. “We need our local officials, not just senators, but everybody that represents us in the state and in D.C. to be reminded that they have an obligation to LSU.”
Tufts said the debate is a great opportunity for the school and its students.
“LSU is a symbol of Louisiana pride in many ways. People all across the state are LSU fans,” said John Garrett Clawson, president and co-founder of the University chapter of Common Sense Action. “It’s kind of a mecca of everything Louisiana.”
Ritter said the Manship School is eager to host a debate of this caliber.
Manship School staff discussed the idea of hosting a debate last spring. When Raycom Media called asking to partner with the Manship School, Ritter said the Manship School was already sure of its answer.
The Manship School has hosted other debates in the past including the 2012 mayoral debate, but nothing that can compare to this Senate debate.
Clawson said hosting the debate on campus allows students to roll out of bed and have the debate at their disposal.
“I think it’s a great way for students to get engaged and interact with their candidate,” Clawson said.
Ritter said the candidates will speak on the most important issues affecting Louisiana, including higher education.
“They are obviously here to talk to the next generation of voters,” Clawson said.
Clawson said the debate offers a chance for young voters to see the candidates outside their talking points, and he said he hopes the candidates speak about solutions to move Louisiana forward.
“There are moments where they are caught off guard or when they have to answer on their own without the help of their campaign manager or without the help of political bosses,” Clawson said.
He said students will have a have the opportunity to see the candidates off the television screen and really see the person they may be voting for.
Clawson said CSA is partnering with GeauxVote to host a voter registration table in the Lawton Room.