John McCain and Mike Huckabee are the first presidential candidates to step up for Versus’ Sportsmen Vote ’08 platform.
Comments from the Republican hopefuls -- Sen. McCain (Ariz.) and former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee -- addressing issues relevant to the sportsman community will be available, beginning Jan. 17, on Versus.com and the Versus on Demand platform.
Versus Sportsmen Vote ’08 is a strategic partnership between the Comcast Corp.-owned network and The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation as a means for candidates to discuss outdoor topics. As part of the forum, Versus and CSF will pose eight to 10 questions on matters that impact hunting and fishing, industries/avocations that engage some 34 million Americans, who spend some $76 billion annually on those pursuits.
Topics may include: access for hunting and fishing; energy; marine-protected areas; wilderness areas; and conservation tax easements. The candidates are allowed to discard two of the queries, according to Versus officials.
As the election cycle progresses, Versus hopes to bring additional candidates to the on-demand and online vehicles.
“With more than 34 million Americans participating in outdoor activities, sportsmen are undeniably an important constituency to the 2008 presidential candidates,” said Versus president Gavin Harvey. “Part of our mission to be the preeminent destination for outdoor programming is to expand the hunting and fishing community base, and give a voice to the issues that are important to them -- with the upcoming Presidential election, and in the ever-changing digital era, this is the perfect platform for our country’s political leaders to connect with this group.”
