Published: August 05, 2009 04:58 pm      

Hutchison joins Perry in accepting debate invite

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry accepted invitations Tuesday to participate in the first two debates for next year's Republican gubernatorial primary, and by the end of the day his likely opponent had agreed to at least one.

Perry is seeking an unprecedented third term as Texas governor against a likely primary challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. He said he accepted invitations Tuesday from the Belo Corp. and the Collin County Republican Party and challenged Hutchison to join him in the debates.

Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner challenged Hutchison to "dispel concerns that her 16 years in Washington have left her out of touch with the issues facing everyday Texans."

Initially, Hutchison campaign spokesman Jeff Sadosky wouldn't commit to the debates but said Hutchison "looks forward to debating the issues with Rick Perry and plans to do so repeatedly over the next seven months."

But hours later, Sadosky confirmed the campaign's acceptance of the invitation from Belo.

"We're there," Sadosky said, adding that the campaign had not seen the Collin County GOP's invitation.

In a brief statement, Sadosky attacked Perry's record on issues such as border security and federal stimulus spending and said "the more interesting debate could be between Rick Perry's rhetoric and Rick Perry's record."

The expected showdown between the two GOP heavyweights has already sparked bitter exchanges in a campaign that pundits say will be nasty even by Texas standards.

In the invitation from Dallas television station WFAA-TV "on behalf of four Belo-owned television stations in Texas and The Dallas Morning News," campaigns were told the one-hour prime-time debates would be offered to one television station and one radio station in each Texas city.

The Dallas Morning News is owned by A.H. Belo Corp.

The debates would take place "sometime in January or February," wrote Michael Valentine, vice president of news for WFAA-TV.