LITTLE ROCK — A little more than three weeks after their first live televised debate, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Asa Hutchinson and Democrat Mike Ross are squaring off again. The debate will give them a chance to zero in on their top lines of attack in one of the most closely watched governor's races in the country.
The two ex-congressmen have been running against each other for more than a year and have traded barbs over their competing tax cut plans, their Washington backgrounds and the federal health overhaul. The rivals are running to succeed Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe, who is barred by term limits from seeking re-election.
Here are some key issues and themes likely to emerge in Tuesday's debate, which will be aired statewide:
WHO'S THE MIDDLE CLASS CHAMPION?
Hutchinson had used his first debate against Ross to cast himself as a champion of the middle class, saying his proposal to cut individual income taxes by $100 million in his first year if elected would do more for working Arkansans.
Expect Ross to try to undermine that argument while touting his own tax cut plan, which calls for eventually reducing individual income taxes by $575 million as the state's budget will allow. He'll likely continue his argument that Hutchinson's proposal would jeopardize the state's budget by cutting too much, too soon.
The two will also likely spar over the ballot measure to raise Arkansas' minimum wage from $6.25 an hour to $8.50 by 2017. Ross endorsed the proposal earlier this year, while Hutchinson said he he'd vote for the measure after it was approved for the ballot.
WHO'S THE WASHINGTON INSIDER?
Both Ross and Hutchinson have ties to Washington as former congressmen, but the two have spent much of the campaign trading attacks as they try to label each other as D.C. insiders.
It's a label that could fit either one easily. Ross served 12 years in Congress and was a public face of the Blue Dog Coalition of Democrats during his time there. Hutchinson served four years representing northwest Arkansas in Congress and another two years in the Bush administration.
Ross regularly derides Hutchinson as a Washington lobbyist and has said the Republican hopeful's time in Washington shows how partisan he is. Hutchinson has tried to link Ross to national Democratic figures who remain unpopular in Arkansas, including President Barack Obama and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
WHO HAS THE BEST EDUCATION PLAN?
Ross has said he wants to be known as the "education governor," while Hutchinson says he wants to be known as the "jobs governor." But both have been sparring over who has the best education plan for Arkansas' schools.
Ross will likely continue touting his proposal to expand pre-kindergarten programs to every 4-year-old in the state, a plan that he says eventually would cost an additional $37.4 million a year. Hutchinson has criticized the plan, saying his Democratic rival is trying to expand a program the state isn't fully funding already.
Hutchinson will also likely continue promoting his proposal to expand computer science education in the state's schools, a proposal that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush praised when he campaigned with Hutchinson last week.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The two meet up Oct. 16 for a taped televised debate held by the Arkansas Educational Television Network in Conway. Unlike their past two debates, this one will feature Green Party nominee Joshua Drake and Libertarian Frank Gilbert