Noelle Bivens, Christopher J. Hale square off in a virtual town hall-style debate

Jul 08, 2020 at 11:00 am by Voice Wire


Democratic candidates Noelle Bivens and Christopher J. Hale will participate in an open debate, providing voters in the district with critical candidate information before the primary for Tennessee's 4th U.S. Congressional District.

Bivens' challenged Hale who accepted earlier this week. Hosted and moderated by Royce Massengill of the Royce's Rant podcast, the event will be held Thursday, June 9, and streamed live on Facebook and other social platforms beginning at 8 p.m.

"I'm thrilled to finally debate him," Bivens stated. "Now our constituents will be able to see the stark differences between my primary opponent and me. My hope is that every voter has a chance to see this, so they can make an informed decision at the ballot on Aug. 6."

Bivens said she challenged Hale because she is determined to provide Tennessee voters with a substantive debate on policy prior to casting their ballots in the Aug. 6 Primary and was encouraged by Hale's acceptance of the offer.

Although the debate will be virtual, abiding by social distancing guidelines, it will follow a traditional format, during which each candidate will have both opening and closing statement opportunities and two minutes to answer their individual questions with a one-minute rebuttal.

Massengill's team curated questions directly from constituents and have provided each candidate with a list of topics: education, police reform, health care, community, voting rights, cash bails, and cannabis legalization. Bivens and Hale are running to challenge and unseat incumbent Scott DesJarlais (R-TN04) in November.

Thursday's debate will be the first for the two candidates. Earlier this month on June 8, Hale debated Scott DesJarlais' Republican Primary opponent Doug Meyer, a self-proclaimed ‘proud boy', in Grundy County.

 

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