Fleming files formal request for debate

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Erik Fleming delivered a formal request to Republican incumbent Trent Lott today challenging the longtime senator to a debate.
Fleming’s action came one day after the state representative from Clinton publicly requested a debate with Lott before the November general election. The Associated Press reports that Lott’s spokesman Lee Youngblood said Lott never received a formal request.
To ensure Lott received the request, Fleming did the following: He hand-delivered a copy of his letter to Lott’s downtown Jackson office; faxed and e-mailed a copy to Lott’s Jackson and Washington, D.C., offices; and sent a copy overnight to Lott in Washington.
Now, the fate of a debate in the Senate race is firmly up to Lott – who hasn’t debated anyone for office since he first ran for and won the U.S. Senate seat in a 1988 election.
No excuses are valid for avoiding a debate, including that Lott is too busy to participate in a debate, that he doesn’t have time, that he is too busy campaigning or that it’s too late in the campaign.