The candidates for governor and for the U.S. House of Representatives will meet in two separate debates in August. Both debates are sponsored by the Delaware Journalism Collaborative.
The first debate will feature the candidates running to become the state’s next governor. This debate will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Dover Public Library on Aug. 14.
Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives will meet in the second debate, which will take place Aug. 27, also from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the main branch of the Wilmington Public Library.
Owing to the size of the venues, attendance at both debates will be by invitation only. But both debates will be widely available to voters.
The debates will be live-streamed by the collaborative over YouTube and on Facebook. Voters can tune in on the Collaborative’s Facebook page at facebook.com/DEJournalismCollab/ to watch either debate, or they can go to the collaborative’s YouTube channels.
The gubernatorial debate will be broadcast at youtube.com/live/P5CeDNUkSdE, and the Congressional debate will be broadcast at youtube.com/live/TpfNbfsXp4Y.
Members of the collaborative, which consists of 23 independent newsrooms and media organizations statewide, will also cover and/or broadcast the debates live on their respective social media channels.
The debates were intentionally scheduled to take place prior to the statewide primary, to help voters to decide on their party’s candidate, and to encourage voter turnout for the primary election. All the qualified candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties have been invited to participate in the debates.
Democratic candidates for governor include Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and former chief state environmental regulator Collin O’Mara, while Republicans will choose between state Rep. Mike Ramone and newcomers Jerrold A. Price and Bobby Williamson.
The Democratic candidates for Delaware’s lone Congressional seat include State Sen. Sarah McBride and newcomers Earl Cooper and Elias Weir, while Republicans will choose between Donyale Hall and John J. Whalen III.
A panel of three journalists, each representing one of the media partners in the collaborative, will rotate taking turns in asking the candidates prepared questions. Each panel will also have a moderator to keep track of time and coordinate the dialogue. Questions will not be shared with the candidates in advance.
For more on this year’s election, please visit dejournalism.org/2024-voter-guide-for-delaware. The Delaware Journalism Collaborative is a program of the Local Journalism Initiative. To learn more about LJI, please visit ljidelaware.org.
Email info@dejournalism.org for more information on the debates.