Senate hopefuls to square off Thursday night

The two candidates competing for the Johnston County State Senate seat will square off on Thurs. Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at The Clayton Center in a community forum to discuss their campaign platforms with the public.

Incumbent Republican Sen. David Rouzer and Clayton Mayor Jody McLeod, a Democrat, will respond to questions posed by moderator Bruce Mildwurf, an award-winning reporter with WRAL TV 5 who has been the recipient of several awards including the prestigious Alfred I. du Pont-Columbia University award.

Audience members will also have the opportunity to challenge the candidates with questions from the floor.

Rouzer, a resident of the McGee’s Crossroads community, has held the seat since 2008, which represents Johnston county and a portion Wayne county. It has been a decade since a democrat has held the District 12 position. McLeod, a life-long resident of Clayton and owner of Annie V’s florist, has served as mayor of Clayton since 2004.

The Clayton-News Star is sponsoring the forum.