OXFORD,
Miss. – U.S. Rep. Travis Childers and his Republican opponent, Greg
Davis, have agreed to a joint appearance Oct. 15 at the Overby Center
for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi
to discuss issues in their contest for the First Congressional District
seat.
The 4:30 p.m. forum in the Overby Center Auditorium is to
be moderated by Jonathan Scott, news editor of the Oxford Eagle. The
event is open to the public, and representatives of news organizations
from the region are being invited to pose questions for the candidates.
It will be the first of several political forums scheduled this month at the Overby Center in connection with the November elections.
Childers and Davis debated at the Overby Center last spring when they were running in a special election to fill the remainder of the term vacated by Roger Wicker after he was appointed to a vacant Senate seat.
“That was an outstanding discussion by both candidates, and we hope to have another good session that will help frame the debate before next month’s election,” said Curtis Wilkie, Overby Center fellow and associate professor of journalism.
Childers won the special election in May and has represented the north Mississippi district in Congress since. But Davis, mayor of Southaven, is challenging him again in the Nov. 4 election for a full term. Before his election, Childers was chancery clerk of Prentiss County.
In other upcoming events at the Overby Center, U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, a Republican incumbent seeking a sixth term, plans to attend a public forum with news reporters at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 22. His Democratic opponent, Erik Fleming, is to attend a similar program at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 23.
The Overby Center is also working to schedule a joint appearance later this month with Wicker, a Republican, and former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat. The two men are running for the remaining four years of a term left open by the resignation last year of U.S. Sen. Trent Lott.
For more information or for assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-1692.