Sen. Lamar Alexander accepts invitation to participate in forum with Democratic rival

photo Lamar Alexander
photo Gordon Ball

NASHVILLE - Whether it develops into a debate or not remains to be seen, but Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has accepted a Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation invitation to participate in a meet-the-candidate "forum" on Oct. 16 with Democratic rival Gordon Ball.

Alexander's campaign this afternoon confirmed the two-term senator has accepted the invitation and will participate in the event, slated to be held at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville.

"This will be a good opportunity to remind Tennesseans that my opponent is just one more vote for Barack Obama's agenda, and that a vote for me is a vote for a new Senate majority that will lead the country in a different and more conservative direction," Alexander said in a statement when asked about the letter.

The Ball campaign did not respond immediately to a similar inquiry. But Ball, a Knoxville class-action lawsuit attorney, has pressed Alexander for a series of debates. Whether the forum would satisfy his demand was not clear although it might provide some opportunity for the two to engage one another.

In his letter, dated today, Farm Bureau President W. Lacy Upchurch said the forum "will provide an opportunity for our members to meet and hear from each of you about the issues you consider to be most important."

Upchurch said Farm Bureau leaders "are specifically interested in your position on rural economics, the budget, labor, agriculture and the environment."

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