Rob Cornilles debates Democrat nominee tonight on KATU

by NW Spotlight

Rob Cornilles, candidate for U.S. Congress in Oregon’s First District, will be appearing tonight, Sunday, Nov. 27, in the general election’s first debate. You can watch him go toe-to-toe with the Democrat nominee on Portland’s KATU Channel 2 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The debate can also be seen live online on KATU live steaming video.

Update: In case you missed it, the debate can be seen here on the KATU web site.

This Special Election

As a result of David Wu’s resignation, there is a special election to replace him in the U.S. Congress for the last 11 months of his term: February 2012 through early January 2013. The special general election will be held on January 31, 2012. This special election is being held using the existing CD-1 boundaries.

The Candidates

Rob Cornilles is the president of Game Face Inc, which advises professional sports teams on how to improve their business operations.

Suzanne Bonamici is a former State Senator and her husband was David Wu’s lawyer for many years, up until this past spring.

Independent Party Nomination

The debate is being held in conjunction with the Independent Party of Oregon.

Under an Oregon law that allows “fusion voting”, both candidates will be seeking the Independent Party nomination in addition to the Republican Party nomination that Rob Cornilles has already won and the Democratic Party nomination that Suzanne Bonamici has already won.

The Independent Party of Oregon conducts an online primary, with voting available from November 14 until 5:00 PM on this Tuesday, November 29.

Convincing voters that she’s independent may be tough for Suzanne Bonamici, though; data from The Oregonian reveals that Suzanne Bonamici voted along party lines 98.3% of the time in the State Senate.

Click here to see the candidate’s responses to the Independent Party’s questionnaire for the 2011 Special Primary Election.