Senator Mitch McConnell has accepted an invitation to debate Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes on KET in October.
KET announced Monday that the incumbent Republican said he would appear alongside the Democratic Secretary of State October 13 on the program Kentucky Tonight.
Senior Director of Communications for KET Tim Bischoff told WKU Public Radio that Libertarian candidate David Patterson, who qualified for the November ballot last week, would not be invited to the KET debate.
Bischoff said candidates were chosen for the event based on specific criteria. According to a document Bischoff sent to WKU Public Radio, those criteria are:
- He/she is a Kentucky resident and a “legally qualified candidate” under FCC guidelines (based on the following):
Has publicly announced his/her intention to run for office, is qualified under applicable law to hold the office, and has qualified for a place on the ballot, or
Has publicly committed to seeking election by the write-in method and documents that he/she is conducting an active campaign;
- The candidate or the candidate’s campaign maintains an active website devoted to the campaign that addresses at least three (3) issues related to the race in which the candidate is running;
- The candidate has accepted at least $100,000 in contributions for the current election (as documented in Federal Election Commission reports available at www.fec.gov for federal candidates);
- If a professional public opinion survey by an independent political pollster has been conducted, the candidate must have received ten percent (10%) or more of support for the current election.
