A correction was added to this article Oct. 20.”

Because of reporting errors, the Oct. 19 article ‘”Town hall” format planned for Latham, Johnson debate’ incorrectly indicated that the candidates for Iowa”s 4th Congressional District seat would debate Wednesday night at the Memorial Union. They will not. Republican Tom Latham and Democrat Paul Johnson debated Tuesday on WHO Radio. Johnson will host an event titled ‘Interview Your Candidate for U.S. Congress’ at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union.

The article also incorrectly attributed a quotation to James Carstensen, Latham”s spokesman. The quotation ‘Our biggest challenge is the fact that Congressman Latham is an incumbent, but Paul Johnson has a very broad knowledge on many of the issues, including the environment’ should have been attributed to Johnson spokeswoman Wanda Gardner.

The Daily regrets these errors.In the spirit of the political season, campaigns have been forging through the issues with numerous debates at both the local and national level.

In their second and final debate, U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, and Democratic challenger Paul Johnson will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union to discuss education, homeland security and foreign policy, while trying to convince voters to choose them as the representative for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

The meeting between the two candidates will be somewhat different from their last debate, in that they will answer questions from the Iowa voters in a “town hall” format rather than from a moderator in a talk-show format.

James Carstensen, Latham’s spokesman, said he was optimistic because Latham has had plenty of experience in this type of debate.

“Congressman Latham has held 345 town meetings and is very familiar with this format,” Carstensen said.

Wanda Gardner, a spokeswoman for Johnson, said Johnson plans to use this experience to get to know the voters better.

“Paul Johnson wants to let people know who he is and what he stands for,” Gardner said. “He wants to show that he responds directly to the people and that his knowledge on the issues is very broad.”

Gardner said that Johnson, who served in the Iowa Legislature from 1984 to 1990, plans to show the voters that he is a regular guy.

“People will see him as a genuine, good person and not as a politician,” she said.

Town hall debates tend to bring out the candidates’ personality better than the formalized moderated debates, Gardner said. The debate will be weighted on more than just personality — issues are sure to play an important role.

“Congressman Latham plans to focus on his vision for the next two years,” Carstensen said. “His big issues are economic, health care and homeland security issues.”

He said Latham has plans with homeland security to speed up the flow of funds from the federal level to the local level so that authorities can take appropriate actions when needed.

Education is also an important issue, and each candidate has a different position.

“The No Child Left Behind Act is taking direct administration away from local school boards,” Gardner said.

“Local schools know their students better than people at the national level. Paul Johnson believes that standards should be set at the state and local level. He also believes that No Child Left Behind should be scrapped.”

Latham stands on the opposite side of the issue. He voted for the No Child Left Behind Act, and, Carstensen said, he will continue to support President Bush’s education plan.

According to USA Today, the No Child Left Behind Act has been underfunded by $27 million. Carstensen defended that fact by stating that the budget proposed for the act is just a “projected goal.”

Both candidates will have their strengths and weaknesses and try to use them to their advantage.

“Our biggest challenge is the fact that Congressman Latham is an incumbent, but Paul Johnson has a very broad knowledge on many of the issues, including the environment,” Carstensen said.

He said that Johnson does have experience in environmental issues, but it doesn’t mean that he will have the advantage on these issues.

“Tom Latham plans to highlight his accomplishments in Congress and outline his plan for the future,” Carstensen said. “We are looking forward to a healthy debate.”