A pair of debates aimed at informing voters ahead of the May primary election was mostly tense and sometimes personal as frontrunners in both the Republican and Democratic primaries in the race for governor took the opportunity to sling attacks previously reserved for the airwaves.
Candidates from both parties honed in on promises aimed to address affordability concerns, which is a top issue for voters this year. But in the first and likely only time that all GOP candidates will share the debate stage, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Rick Jackson, the healthcare executive who upended the Republican primary as a late entrant, sparred over the millions of dollars that have been spent by both in attack ads aimed at the other.
Democrats were largely unified on their agenda to address affordability concerns through improving access to healthcare, largely by expanding Medicaid, as well as increasing access to affordable housing and higher-paying jobs. But one candidate, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, had to answer repeatedly for his past positions when he was an elected GOP state leader.
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