MJ Hegar, Royce West debate Saturday ahead of runoff election
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The two Democrats vying for an opportunity to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, will step onto the debate stage Saturday evening.
The Nexstar Media Group debate between M.J. Hegar and Texas State Sen. Royce West begins at 6 p.m. at the KXAN studios in Austin. It is their only scheduled face-to-face meeting ahead of the July 14 runoff election.
Hegar, an Air Force veteran, garnered 22% of votes in the March Democratic Primary, while West picked up 14%. The winner of the runoff election will face Sen. Cornyn in November. Cornyn has represented Texas in Washington, D.C. since 2002 and is a three-term incumbent.
KXAN-TV news anchors Sally Hernandez and Robert Hadlock, as well as Dallas Morning News political writer Gromer Jeffers Jr., will moderate the hour-long debate and pose questions to the candidates collected from viewers around Texas.
Watch our pre-show within this story or on your local Nexstar station’s Facebook page beginning at 5:45 p.m. Saturday, followed by the debate at 6 p.m.