Mississippi State University will host its first-ever gubernatorial debate Monday when candidates Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and Haley Barbour meet in McComas Hall.
The debate, sponsored by the Student Association, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the McComas Hall Theatre.
“We saw this as a great opportunity to bring something good to Mississippi State,” said Brian Havard, the director of governmental affairs for the SA. “This was an opportunity for Mississippi State to get some exposure to the media and to continue to boost our image.”
Havard said that attendance to the event will be free. Also, 160 tickets will be given to the Democrat and Republican parties.
Other tickets have been set aside for the university, with some of those being offered on a “first come, first served” basis.
Tickets will be available to students at 8:45 a.m. Monday at The Colvard Union ticket counter. SA President Josh Blades said he regrets that tickets will be limited for students.
“We fought tooth and nail trying to get as many tickets as we could, but the campaigns required 160 tickets apiece,” Blades said.
Kate McIntosh, SA chief of staff, said last spring the newly elected SA officials set out ways to help raise the bar through new programs, new events and better events.
The SA thought that since this fall would be an election year, a gubernatorial debate would be a good idea.
“Why wouldn’t we have a debate here?” asked McIntosh.
“Mississippi State is the largest
institution in the state. We supply lots of jobs to Mississippi,” she added.
McIntosh said the process of bringing the debate to the university took persistence. Havard called and talked with the candidates and their staffs in attempts to convince them to come to campus for a debate.
This will be the second of four debates in Mississippi. The candidates met in Jackson Monday. After MSU, the candidates have arranged to debate again at Delta State University in Cleveland and again at an undisclosed location in Biloxi.
T.J. Harvey, the chairman of the MSU College Republicans, said Barbour will meet with his supporters before the event. The plans were not finalized as of press time.
“We feel it will be informative for the community, the faculty and the students,” Harvey said.
Clay Green, president of the MSU College Democrats, said Musgrove has also planned to meet with his supporters beforehand. “He (Musgrove) will come early to meet with the College Democrats to help stir up the students,” Green said.
The rallies are open to the community and students.