By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — Lt. Gov. Bill Halter today challenged U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln to face him in a series of debates.

“I invite Sen. Lincoln to join me in town hall debates,” said Halter, who is running against Lincoln in the Democratic primary for her Senate seat. “Arkansans will be able to express directly to us what they want in their government. And we can discuss the differences in our visions and records; issues like health care, jobs and access to higher education.”

Lincoln’s campaign manager, Steve Patterson, said today the campaign “will be glad to work with neutral parties that are interested in sponsoring candidate debates that do not conflict with the senator’s full-time job representing Arkansas in the Senate.”

Patterson said senators were notified today of the possibility of votes coming up through the weekend, which he said shows how difficult it can be to schedule events that do not conflict with Lincoln’s schedule.

“Our campaign has already been busy building the senator’s weekend schedules in the state and during congressional breaks but, at her instruction, we are also prepared to cooperate to the best of our ability in order to accommodate as many candidate debates as her schedule allows,” he said.

Halter proposed holding six debates on university and college campuses across the state. In speeches and campaign ads, Halter has been touting his successful push two years ago for a state lottery to fund college scholarships.

Halter called for the debates in a news release today. The release did not mention the third Democratic candidate in the race, D.C. Morrison of Little Rock.