The location of a U.S. Senate debate at noon Friday in Little Rock has changed from Philander Smith College to Arkansas Baptist College in its Old Main auditorium.
Democrat Conner Eldridge and Libertarian Frank Gilbert have committed to appear. Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. John Boozman has been invited to appear but has not responded to the invitations and is expected to dodge the event, as he did an earlier debate at the University of Arkansas.
I’ve asked why Philander Smith dropped out as a debate sponsor, but no one was immediately available for a response. A couple of moderators dropped out of the earlier UA debate after agreeing to participate. Craig O’Neill of KTHV will moderate the debate Friday at Arkansas Baptist College. UPDATE: Philander said a scheduler who’d agreed to the event was unaware of a conflicting event previously scheduled at the same time and place.
Candidates will debate for an hour and take questions for 15 minutes.