CREDIT J. TYLER FRANKLIN / WFPL
A political science professor from Murray State University predicts pensions and jobs will be big topics at Kentucky’s first televised gubernatorial debate this Thursday in Paducah.
Drew Seib said he thinks the pension issue will be unavoidable for Republican governor Matt Bevin and Democrat Attorney General Andy Beshear at the October 3 debate. He said voters are also concerned about the economy.
“Regardless if we’re dealing with the national level or even local level it’s always about the economy or jobs. I think there’ll probably be something along those lines that comes up as well. So how do we get jobs to Kentucky and to stay in Kentucky?” Sibe said.
Seib said the state is heading into a biennium. That means the government will be dealing with the budget next year. He said government spending and taxation is tangentially related to the economy and will probably be brought up in the debate.
Seib said voters interested in watching the debate should get a sense of the candidates’ platforms beforehand. He said people should view Bevin and Beshear’s campaign websites to understand their focus on issues. He said voters can compare their published platforms to what they say in the debates. Sibe said a candidate’s website is much more reflective of their campaign.
“They get asked questions at debates they don’t necessarily want to answer. Lots of times they’re good about side-stepping those answers and taking it into another avenue and redirecting into something they do want to talk about,” Seib said.
The general election is November 5.
