David Vitter Skipping Wednesday Night Governor's Race Debate

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Another debate in the Louisiana governor's race will go on without Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter.

         The other three major gubernatorial contenders on the Oct. 24 ballot are participating in Wednesday night's statewide debate on Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

         It'll be the third TV debate featuring Republican Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and Democratic state Rep. John Bel Edwards — and missing Vitter.

         Vitter's spokesman didn't immediately respond when asked the senator's reason for skipping the debate. Vitter is scheduled to attend a televised debate with his rivals Thursday at Louisiana Tech University.

         Wednesday's event, co-sponsored by the Council for a Better Louisiana, is being held at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette at 7 p.m. It's airing on LPB stations and streaming at www.lpb.org.