U.S. Senate Candidates Forum On Townsquare Media Tonight [AUDIO]
Tonight at 7pm, Townsquare Media News will give you an inside track as to who will be your voice in Washington. Incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D) squares off against his challenger, State Senator Joe Kyrillos (R) in a one-hour candidates’ forum.
You can listen live on NJ 101.5 FM and view a video simulcast on Fios One TV, as well as on our website. Online, you can also take part in a live interactive blog and ask the candidates questions. Listeners can call in with questions too. The number is 1-800-283-1015.
“I think that in particular, State Senator Kyrillos really can use this as an opportunity to make in-roads,” says Montclair State University political science professor Dr. Brigid Harrison. “Tonight really presents him with an opportunity to demonstrate his ability to have command over those federal issues.”
Menendez has large leads over Kyrillos in every major poll. He has the power of incumbency and he’s a Democrat in a predominantly Democratic State. Harrison says that doesn’t mean there aren’t potential pitfalls for Menendez tonight.
“One of the dangers in that not many people think of Senator Menendez as a big, warm, fuzzy Teddy Bear,” explains Harrison. “One of the things that Senator Menendez needs to be really, really careful of is that he cannot come off appearing arrogant.”
Harrison was a panelist for the first Menendez/Kyrillos debate. She believes Kyrillos must be very specific with his answers tonight.
Harrison says in the first debate the pressure was on and Kyrillos’ nerves were showing, “But, this opportunity tonight means that he can really get specific in terms of what his policy proposals are and what he would like to do differently than Senator Menendez.”
One of the problems for Kyrillos in the first debate says Harrison is that he couldn’t give an example of a federal program that he would cut or explain which tax loopholes he would close. Menendez on the other hand said he would end tax breaks for oil companies and ethanol subsidies.
Harrison says, “The level of specificity reflected Senator Menendez’s experience.”
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