FALCON HEIGHTS — The two leading candidates in the state’s U.S. Senate race this year are meeting for a debate at the Minnesota State Fair.

The debate today between Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Republican Kurt Bills, a state representative, took place over the noon hour and aired live on Minnesota Public Radio. It was moderated by Mike Mulcahy, the political editor of MPR News.

Klobuchar and Bills shared a stage only once previously this campaign, at a forum on agricultural issues earlier this month in southwestern Minnesota. But today’s debate will be their first chance to debate a wide range of national issues.

The pair has only one further debate scheduled at this time, another MPR-sponsored meet-up on the weekend prior to the election.