Six Democratic U.S. Senate candidates have accepted invitations to participate in a debate at the Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention.

The 90-minute debate will take place 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark, 4140 Governors Row, in South Austin. Participants will include Chris Bell, Amanda Edwards, MJ Hegar, Sema Hernandez, Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez and Royce West.

Approximately 400 union delegates and guests are expected to attend. The Texas AFL-CIO is soliciting questions from union members to be included in the debate.

“We are excited that the invited candidates have agreed to engage in a back-and-forth discussion on issues that matter to working families in Texas,” Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy said. “We know our delegates will be very eager to hear what this diverse group of candidates has to say. Texas is changing, and we believe working families will play a critical role in this contest and up and down the 2020 ballot.”

The debate is part of a two-day agenda in which COPE (Committee on Political Education) delegates will consider statewide, congressional and legislative endorsements and hold sessions on building power for working families in Texas. Featured speakers confirmed at this time include Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and national AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre.

A full agenda is posted here. www.texasaflcio.org/cope-2020