Trib Total Media co-sponsoring debate in Pa.'s hotly contested GOP primary race for governor
Spotlight PA and its founding members, including Trib Total Media, are sponsoring a debate Tuesday featuring five candidates seeking the Republican nomination in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race.
The 90-minute debate at Gettysburg College will be broadcast on the nonprofit cable television network PCN, airing at 7 p.m., and livestreamed by the founding members. In addition to Trib Total Media, other founding members of Spotlight PA include The Philadelphia Inquirer, PennLive/The Patriot-News and WITF-FM.
Candidates scheduled to participate in Tuesday’s debate include state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale, Republican strategist and former lobbyist Charlie Gerow, former U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart and surgeon Nche Zama.
GOP candidates not participating include former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain and Delaware County business owner Dave White.
There will be no Democratic gubernatorial debate because Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is running unopposed.
Tuesday’s debate will be the first of three targeting hotly contested primary races. Democratic U.S. Senate candidates will debate April 25 at Dickinson College in Carlisle, while Republican U.S. Senate candidates will debate the following day at Dickinson.
The debates will run for 90 minutes and feature questions from moderator Scott LaMar, a radio host with Harrisburg NPR affiliate WITF-FM, and journalists from Trib Total Media, The Inquirer and PennLive/The Patriot-News. The participating candidates had no role in determining topics or questions for the debate.
Tuesday’s debate is being held in conjunction with the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College.
The Tribune-Review will livestream the debate on its Facebook page, facebook.com/triblive.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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