LITTLE ROCK - Former U.S. Attorney and candidate for the U.S. Senate Conner Eldridge today challenged incumbent Senator John Boozman to a debate at the Hope Watermelon Festival in Hope, Arkansas this Saturday, August 13, 2016 at 12 p.m. With the Senate on a record-long, seven-week recess, Eldridge says he fully expects Sen. Boozman to be at the classic Arkansas festival.
"It has been well over six months since my initial call to debate, and I've heard nothing from the Senator," said Eldridge. "We were even invited this past week by Little Rock TV Station KARK to debate later this month, but Sen. Boozman hastily declined. Since Sen. Boozman should be in Hope this Saturday, all he has to do is show up and give the Arkansas people what they have deserved for the past 15 years: straight debate on the issues that matter to working people and families of Arkansas."
Eldridge has repeatedly challenged his opponent to debates around the state, even showing up in the Senator's hometown in late July with two podiums at the ready. Sen. Boozman was nowhere to be found. As recently as August, Little Rock TV Network, KARK, invited Eldridge and Sen. Boozman to participate in a statewide, televised debate. Eldridge accepted, but Sen. Boozman declined the invitation.
"There is too much at stake in this election for someone running for statewide office to be sitting on the sidelines, dodging questions and hiding from the voters," said Eldridge. "The Arkansas people are fed up with Washington's inaction and ineffectiveness, and they want someone who will look them in the eye, listen to their concerns, and then go fight for them in the Senate. That's what I will do as a U.S. Senator, and that's why we're going to win this race."