Senate candidates to debate tonight

Senate candidates have their chance Monday night to sway Hoosier voters in a tight and bitter campaign that could help determine the balance of the U.S. Senate.

Republican State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, Democrat U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly and Libertarian challenger Andrew Horning will square off in a one-hour debate that starts at 7 p.m. The candidates will hold their debate at the WFYI television studio. There will be no live audience.

Polls show it's a close race between Mourdock and Donnelly with numbers from both sides showing a tight one-digit margin.

Mourdock beat longtime U.S. senator Richard Lugar during the May primary. He’s served as Indiana’s treasurer since 2007 and most recently won reelection in 2010.

Donnelly was first elected to Congress in 2006 and won reelection in 2008 and 2010. He represents Indiana’s Second District in north central Indiana.

Horning has worked in cardiovascular healthcare since 1979 in a variety of roles. His time in healthcare influenced him to study the government’s role in the lives of Hoosiers and he has been an outspoken supporter of libertarian political philosophy.

The candidates will hold another debate on Tuesday, Oct. 23 in New Albany. That event will be their final scheduled debate before the election.

Fox59.com will live stream the debate in its entirety here.