U.S. Senate campaigns in Georgia looking at debates

ALBANY — Democratic challenger Jim Barksdale is asking U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Atlanta, to meet him in a series of debates throughout the state, including one that would be conducted in Albany.

Isakson’s campaign said it is open to debating.

“We look forward to debating as we have always done in the general election,” Trey Kilpatrick, campaign manager for Georgians for Isakson, said. “Johnny has asked our campaign leadership to reach out and begin negotiations with the Barksdale campaign.”

According to the Barksdale campaign’s proposal, the debates would focus on economic issues.

“I believe voters across Georgia need to hear directly from both major party candidates in Georgia’s only statewide office on the ballot in November,” Barksdale said in a statement from his campaign Tuesday. “While we may disagree on the issues, I hope that we can agree voters across Georgia stand to benefit by getting the best information they can heading into the voting booth to choose their next U.S. senator.”

In addition to Albany, Barksdale proposed debates in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah, which would be conducted in the 14 weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 general election.

There was no mention in the letter of inviting Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley, an attorney and CPA, to participate.

Isakson is seeking his third six-year term in the U.S. Senate, where he currently chairs two committees — the Ethics Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Senate’s HELP Committee, Finance Committee and Foreign Relations Committee. Isakson has previously served in both the Georgia House and Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also is a former chairman of the Georgia Board of Education.

This is Barksdale’s first run for public office. A native of Macon, he returned to Georgia and Atlanta in 1986 to begin Equity Investment Corporation, an investment firm that his campaign says now manages approximately $5 billion for clients across the United States.

Buckley, of Smyrna, works primarily in the areas of tax, employee benefits, estate planning, business and administrative law, according to his campaign.