To listen to a podcast of the  debate click the speaker icon:

The candidates for a state senate district in the Rochester area went head to head Friday on the Bob Lonsberry show on WHAM 1180.

It was a feisty debate between Republican Sean Hanna and Democrat Ted O'Brien who are running in the 55th district state senate race...that's the seat previously held by Republican Jim Alesi who is not running again.

The main topic the two candidates sparred over was the issue of negative ads..with both men saying that various political ads have been unfair portrayals of their records and their stance on issues.

The  two candidates also have differing views, as you might expect, about a new Siena poll that has O'Brien ahead of Hanna by eleven points. O'Brien says the survey may be reflecting his effort to keep taxes in check, while Hanna indicates other polling he has seen shows the race a lot closer.