GOP Senate candidates, including Springfield's Long, set to speak at February forum

At least three members of a crowded Republican primary field for Missouri's open U.S. Senate seat are set to appear on stage together in February.

Springfield's U.S. Rep. Billy Long will join U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and St. Louis attorney Mark McCloskey for the Missouri Republicans' annual State Lincoln Days event in St. Charles, the party announced Thursday. Attorney General Eric Schmitt, former Gov. Eric Greitens and Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz have not yet confirmed they will attend the forum.

The event will mark one of the first public appearances of multiple Republican candidates thus far in the race to replace Sen. Roy Blunt, who is not seeking re-election. It will be a "chance to hear from the ... candidates on the national issues and how they would represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate," the party said. Democrats seeking their party's nomination appeared in a November forum in Hillsboro.

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Long will get what he wished for during a Springfield press conference last week, in which he criticized his Republican opponents and said he'd "love to get them on the same stage at the same time." He had pointed specifically to Schmitt and Greitens as being absent on the campaign trail.

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The February forum will be a change of pace for Long, who in previous campaigns has not appeared in public forums or debates. In 2016, his podium was empty as his Democratic and Libertarian challengers debated the issues on Missouri State University's campus. Two years prior, he also declined to participate.

Long has won all of his general election challenges easily, usually garnering approximately two-thirds of votes in the solid Republican district.

It's still unclear whether the GOP primary field will take the stage in February with or without an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, whose potential backing could alter the state of the race and push a candidate to the clear front of the pack. Last week, Long said he had been speaking to Trump regularly but doesn't expect him to weigh in on the race until March.

Missouri Republicans' Lincoln Days will be held from Feb. 11-13 at The St. Charles Convention Center. In addition to the candidate forum, the party will hold "banquets with very special guest speakers" to be announced soon.

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: In Missouri Senate race, Republican primary candidates set for forum