Franken rejects offer to debate Lord Faris

Last update: July 21, 2008 - 9:38 PM

DFL U.S. Senate candidate Priscilla Lord Faris, who entered the primary race last week, challenged DFL-endorsed candidate Al Franken on Monday to a series of three debates next month.

Franken campaign spokesman Andy Barr said they will decline her invitation, thank you very much. "Having debated 17 times en route to winning the DFL endorsement, and with the Farmfest debate just days away, we're entirely focused on Norm Coleman," Barr said.

Franken and Coleman, the Republican incumbent, will participate in a candidate forum Aug. 5 at Farmfest, an agriculture expo near Redwood Falls, Minn. It will be their first public meeting this year.

In a letter to Franken, Lord Faris said debates between the two of them would "be mutually beneficial" since they share the goal of defeating Coleman.

Lord Faris, a St. Paul attorney, is one of seven DFL candidates who filed to run in the Sept. 9 primary contest.

A former Sunfish Lake City Council member, she says that she has little quarrel with Franken on the issues but believes that recent polls indicate he's unlikely to beat Coleman.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE

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