* If you really don’t want to debate your under-funded opponent and you go ahead and do it anyway, you probably ought to do it like this…

In their only live joint appearance before the March 18 primary election, Republican congressional candidates Erika Harold and Rodney Davis clashed over Davis’ vote to trim veterans’ benefits in a federal budget deal.

The one-hour debate was held at 7 a.m. today at Bloomington-Normal radio station Cities 92.9 FM, a station whose signal doesn’t reach Champaign-Urbana or any of the larger communities in the 13th Congressional District. Only a portion of Bloomington-Normal is in the district, which is represented by Davis of Taylorville.

However, the magic of the Interwebtubes means the debate is forever available to anyone with a computer. Click here.

* From the debate coverage…

“I think it’s unconscionable to have voted for something that cut veteran’s pensions. And I would disagree with Congressman Davis, he was not the person who led the charge on restoring those benefits.”

[Harold] said Davis defended the cuts in a television interview.

“That’s not true,” Davis interjected.

“He was justifying the cuts as saying that they would not apply to disabled veterans, and he said that they would be applying to people who could have a second job. I think it’s a mischaracterization to say that he was the one who led it,” said Harold, a Harvard Law School graduate and former Miss America. “Finally I would say that if members of Congress fixed it, what was the point of having those cuts in the first place? Either they didn’t read the bill carefully or, what I think happened, is they understood after the American public responded negatively that this is unacceptable and they went back and fixed it.” […]

[Davis] said he was asked what the impact of the cuts would be “if they weren’t fixed.”

“And that’s the quote they used and that’s where you say that I support these cuts, and that is just wrong and disingenuous and frankly dishonest,” Davis charged.

* Meanwhile…

Davis raised $328,000 from Jan. 1 to Feb. 26, according to his pre-primary filing with the Federal Election Commission. Davis also reported $1.1 million in cash on hand. […]

Former judge Ann Callis, a candidate touted as a top recruit by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, brought in $102,000 in the pre-primary time period. The haul left her with $449,000 in cash on hand as of Feb. 26.

Physics professor George Gollin, a Democrat running against Callis in the primary, raised $76,000. He reported $227,000 in cash on hand, some of which includes an initial loan Gollin made to his campaign. […]

Davis’ GOP primary challenger, Erika Harold, a former Miss America winner, raised $61,000 in the pre-primary period. She reported $137,000 in cash on hand.

* And here’s a new TV ad by Democrat George Gollin…

* Script…

Narrator: Political insider Ann Callis folded to the tea party agenda. Ann Callis said this about cutting Social Security…

Audio of Callis: We’re going to have to see what’s there and what we remove

Narrator: Cut Social Security? Ann Callis wants what the tea party wants

The sentence in question was actually only part of a sentence. According to the Big Debbie’s House Blog, when asked if she’d favor making people work longer before they could retire, Callis said no. The blogger documented several other times where Callis opposed cutting Social Security benefits and quotes the Illinois AFL-CIO president…

Ann Callis has the support of thousands of working men and women in Illinois because she is a true fighter for the middle-class and will protect Social Security and Medicare. Gollin’s ad is clearly misleading and uses a quote out of context, and this desperate attack from George Gollin is totally unwarranted.

Subscribers have an update on poll results in that primary race.