U.S. Senate Candidates McCaskill & Akin Debate For First Time

Missouri's U.S. Senate candidates sparred face-to-face for the first time Friday morning.

Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill faced Republican opponent Todd Akin and Libertarian opponent Jonathan Dine in a verbal showdown Friday morning in Columbia, Mo.

Presented by the Missouri Press Association, the debates were moderated by David Lieb, the Associated Press' chief Jefferson City correspondent.

Join host Steve Kraske and the Up To Date crew for a live broadcast from the debate and for post-forum analysis. Kraske is joined by KBIA news director Ryan Famuliner and St. Louis Beacon political reporter Jo Mannies.

[View the story "Missouri's U.S. Senate Candidates In Their First Debate" on Storify]

Jo Mannies is the award-winning dean of Missouri political reporters. Mannies covered politics for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for almost 30 years before retiring. She subsequently moved to the Beacon, where her Backroom has become a must-read for political junkies.

Ryan Famuliner joined KBIA in February 2011. It’s his second stint at KBIA. His first was from 2005-2007, as a student studying broadcast journalism at the University of Missouri. In his spell outside KBIA, Ryan worked as a general assignment reporter and videographer at WNDU-TV in South Bend, Ind. and as a reporter and anchor at the Missourinet radio network in Jefferson City, Mo. He’s won Edward R. Murrow Awards for his reporting in both television and radio.

[View the story "Missouri's U.S. Senate Candidates In Their First Debate" on Storify]