Linda Lingle and Mazie Hirono Square Off in First Televised Debate

The two candidates (Lingle and Hirono) vying for a U.S. Senate seat in November plan to meet tonight in their first televised debate. Many people have been waiting for this for a while, and it should be interesting to see if Hirono is up to the task of debate, as this is definitely one of Linda Lingle’s strongest areas.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and Republican former Gov. Linda Lingle are scheduled to face off at 7 p.m. tonight on KHON in a debate co-sponsored by the Hawaii chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons. If the debate follows the themes that have emerged during the race, Hirono will try to link Lingle with national Republicans and Mitt Romney, the presidential nominee trying to stop President Barack Obama from winning re-election.

Lingle will try to paint Hirono as a candidate who doesn’t understand the local or national issues she’d face decisions about as a U.S. Senator. She’ll also link Hirono with a Congress with an abysmal record and low approval ratings.

The problem with what Hirono may try to do is that more and more people (even Hawaii voters) have turned their vote against Obama, as they have become less enchanted with him over the last 4-years. Linda Lingle definitely has the leg up here, so Hirono and her team better come ready. Should be a fun debate to watch.