About 200 show up for Republican showdown The Commercial Dispatch
The Republican candidates for Mississippi’s First Congressional District attempted to differentiate themselves to the students of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science Tuesday on the Mississippi University for Women campus.
State Sen. Alan Nunnelee of Tupelo, Eupora lawyer Henry Ross and former Fox News political commentator Angela McGlowan, of Oxford, participated in the first debate involving all three candidates in Rent Auditorium in front of a crowd mainly consisting of MSMS students. About 100 students, and 100 non-students, many wearing stickers supporting their chosen candidate, also sat in on the debate.
Although much of the evening would be spent attempting to differentiate themselves, the candidates were unified on one theme: Current Democratic Congressman Travis Childers has to go.
“He wants to spend $780 billion on government programs that we don’t need,” said Ross.
“We have a congressman who says he’s conservative but votes with Nancy Pelosi 80 percent of the time,” echoed Nunnelee.
“What you need in Washington is someone who will represent you and be able to say ‘no’ to the liberal leadership,” added McGlowan.
With their political bull’s eye set squarely on Childers, the Republican candidates were subtle in their criticism of one another. Nunnelee, a 16-year senator, touted himself as the only candidate with the necessary political experience.
“The biggest issue for Republicans is who can effectively wage a campaign against everything Nancy Pelosi is going to throw at us in November (in the general election),” he said.
Ross and McGlowan both warned against electing another “career politician,” painting themselves as altruistic public servants.
“I’m the only Republican in the race that’s for term limits because I don’t come from the political establishment background,” said Ross.
“I’m not going to Washington to be a career politician,” said McGlowan. “I’ll make some changes, put things in place and go back home.”
Over the course of the debate’s seven questions, conceived by MSMS’s Young Republicans, the candidates charted a similar course. While uniformly denouncing Childers’ choices, they occasionally touched on differences in their own politics.
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