Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani’s campaign accepted an invitation to a debate in Iowa next month, adding a little dig at a rival in the process. The Des Moines Register is sponsoring a December 12th debate for the Republican presidential candidates.
According to the newspaper, eight other G-O-P candidates had accepted The Register’s debate invitation and Giuliani had been the "lone holdout." Former Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Giuliani’s Iowa campaign chairman, issued a prepared statement to signal Giuliani would participate.
In the statement, Pate took a shot at unnamed Giuliani rivals, saying "some candidates have tried to distract voters by spending millions on ads, but have no record of cutting taxes or reducing crime." Pate said Iowa voters will get to see the "real contrast in the candidates’ records" at the Iowa debate.The Des Moines Register debate among the Democratic candidates for president will be held on December 13th.
The two Register debates in mid-December will mark the final time Iowa voters will have a chance to see the candidates from each party together in the same forum before the Caucuses.