AL-5 debate scheduled for Thursday night at 6:30

Huntsville's CBS affiliate, WHNT 19, will broadcast a debate between the candidates for Alabama's Fifth Congressional District tomorrow night from 6:30 to 8:00 . It'll be a crowded stage, with six Republicans and two Democrats facing off against each other. That means there will be very little time for the candidates to go into much detail about their views, so the most we can hope for is to get an idea of which candidates have the poise and temperament to become the Fifth District's next Congress-critter.

The sponsors are billing this as an "interactive debate," and you can e-mail questions for the candidates to the station at the link above or you can put them in the comments box at this post on al.com's web site, where you'll also find the following info about the candidates:

Democrats in the race are Parker Griffith, 65, businessman, Huntsville, and David Maker, 57, optical physicist, Huntsville.

Republican candidates in the race are George Barry, 55, businessman, Madison; Cheryl Baswell Guthrie, 48, attorney, Huntsville; Mark Huff, 36, classical musician, Huntsville; Angelo "Doc" Mancuso, 53, dermatologic surgeon, Courtland; Ray McKee, 63, real estate attorney, Huntsville; Wayne Parker, 49, insurance vice president, Huntsville.

I haven't really paid much attention to this race so far, but based on what I've read on the candidates' web sites and heard on local radio ads, my favorites for the Republican nomination are Wayne Parker and Cheryl Baswell Guthrie, in that order. On the Democratic side, there's no real contest: Parker Griffith is the best qualified and least liberal of the two candidates running, and he's a shoo-in for his party's nomination.