Why tonight’s debate will be like no other political event this year

PERRY — Just beyond the stomach-churning carnival rides and the fried vegetable stalls at Perry’s fairgrounds sits the cavernous auditorium where Georgia’s top candidates will dispense their own brand of head-jerking campaign spin and red meat Tuesday during the first debates of the general election season.

The rowdy debates provide a jarring contrast with the face-offs that will be held over the next month in sterile TV studios. With four weeks until Election Day for a pair of races that are drawing national attention, voters will get to take stock of the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial hopefuls side by side.

It’s the first true turnout test of the general election, and the campaigns are working to pack the place with their fans. Audience participation is more important than ever in Perry, where there’s little attempt to control a crowd that can — and often does — interrupt candidates with applause or boos.