One of the tightest congressional races in the country made it’s way to campus Sunday night.
State Sens. Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga, and Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, came to square off in their most recent debate. The event, sponsored by the Lansing Jaycees, was moderated by Greg Mitchell, a professor at the MSU-Detroit College of Law.
The third-floor board room at MSU-DCL was filled by people there for a variety of reasons. Devon Hill, political science senior and member of the on-campus pro-choice group Voices for Choices was there to support Byrum.
“We’re very pro-choice and Dianne is very pro-choice,” Hill said.
Many of the questions the candidates were asked were written by the audience minutes before the debate began. The candidates attempted to clarify their positions on the issues, a few of which they agreed on. When a question regarding the controversial proposed teacher standards came up, both candidates said the federal government should not be involved.
“Teacher testing is a state matter,” Byrum said.
Rogers also stated he opposed national teacher standards.
This debate follows the Sept. 27 event held at Lansing Community College in which the candidates were not allowed a direct rebuttal. Byrum and Rogers were allowed, however, to rebut in the DCL debate.
“There was lots of information, which is good,” said Heather West, a political science senior. “It was just a little stiff.”
The Byrum-Rogers race has become one of the most-watched in the country. Many consider the seat an important one for both the Democrats and Republicans in order to determine control of Congress. The candidates are competing for the seat in the 8th Congressional District currently held by U.S. Rep. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing. Stabenow decided to vacate the seat when she chose to run against U.S. Sen. Spence Abraham, R-Auburn Hills.
The 8th District includes Ingham and Livingston counties and parts of Washtenaw and Shiawassee counties.
Both candidates are struggling to get the advantage in the race. Byrum is working her Ingham County base, stressing her hometown roots and touting her moderate Democratic views.
Rogers pushes his conservative record in Shiawassee and Livingston counties, while stressing his “common sense” approach to politics in the more moderate Genesee and Ingham counties.
Issues where the candidates differ - like Social Security - were one of the big reasons for some of those in attendance to come. The controversial issue of school vouchers also came up Sunday night.
“I oppose vouchers,” Byrum said. “We need to invest in local schools.”
Rogers said he doesn’t think it’s wrong for people to expect more from local education.
“A little competition wouldn’t hurt our schools,” he said.
Drew M. Harmon can be reached at harmondr@msu.edu.
