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Less than 24 hours after winning the Democratic Primary for Missouri’s 7th Congressional district, Scott Eckersley is challenging his Republican opponent, Billy Long, to a series of “courthouse debates.” KSMU’s Jennifer Moore reports.
STORY UPDATED AT 7:00 p.m. Wednesday: A spokesman from the Billy Long Campaign says Long will agree to the debates in the 10 surrounding counties, and that details are pending.
Eckersley, who used to work as an attorney in former Governor Matt Blunt’s office, sent a letter to the Billy Long Campaign, inviting him to 10 debates on the courthouse steps of each county in Missouri’s 7th district.In the letter, Eckersley extends his congratulations to Long in winning the Republican primary, and asks for a response to the debate challenge by the end of this week.Eckersley told KSMU his campaign feels these old-fashioned debates are just what southwest Missouri voters need to better understand their choices at the polls.“Really, rather than sticking to commercials and little quips and gimmick quotes, really getting to the substance of things is what we’re trying to get at. Our campaign really is about problem-solving, getting after the issues that are really affecting southwest Missouri. And that’s not well done in a 30-second commercial spot,” Eckersley said.
Eckersley got just over 5,000 votes running as a Democrat Tuesday. In the Republican primary, Springfield auctioneer Billy Long got almost three times that amount.Calls to the Billy Long Campaign for comment on the proposed debates were not immediately returned.For KSMU News, I’m Jennifer Moore.
