Rules of debate on Fox 18 between Senate candidates Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Fox 18 KLJB is airing a debate hosted by WHO 13 Tuesday night between U.S. Senate candidates Ashley Hinson (R) and Josh Turek (D). The two are among three candidates competing to represent Iowa and win the seat currently occupied by Senator Joni Ernst, who is not seeking reelection.

This Iowa race could significantly affect the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, potentially helping flip the Republican-controlled body. Republicans currently hold 53 seats, while Democrats hold 45. Two seats are held by Independents, who caucus with the Democrats.

Debate criteria

Not all of the candidates on the November 3 ballot are part of the Debate Night Iowa event. Thomas Laehn, a Libertarian, did not meet the criteria set by WHO 13's parent company, Nexstar, to participate in the October 13 debate.

You can view the criteria in the document below:

Rules of the debate

The debate moderators, WHO 13's Amanda Krenz and KCAU’s Tim Seaman, will pose the questions to the candidates. The debate rules are as follows:

• Each candidate will have 60 seconds to answer a question.
• For a follow-up question or rebuttal, candidates have 30 seconds to respond.
• If a clarification is needed, they will get 15 seconds.
• When time is up, a bell rings.
• Each candidate will have 30 seconds for a closing statement.

Learn more about the candidates here and get a preview of the pre-debate special hosted by WHO 13's Teodora Mitov here.

The hour-long debate goes live at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13 on Fox 18. The entire Debate Night Iowa coverage, including the pre-show, the debate, and the post-debate show, will also be available on the OurQC+ connected TV app, on ourquadcities.com, and on the Our Quad Cities News Facebook and YouTube pages.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.