Approximately 1,700 seats will be available to the public when Kentucky’s gubernatorial candidates debate at Eastern Kentucky University on Sunday, Oct. 25.
The League of Women Voters of Kentucky will host a debate between the two front-runners in the race for governor with co-sponsors EKU and CBS affiliates WLKY-TV of Louisville and WKYT-TV of Lexington. Republican Matt Bevin and Democrat Jack Conway have agreed to participate at the event, which will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. (ET) at the EKU Center for the Arts.
Tickets are free, but seating is reserved. To obtain tickets, visit EKUCenter.com (tickets purchased online can be printed at home) or call the EKU Center for the Arts Box Office at 859-622-7469. The box office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Director Joel Aalberts said the Center welcomes classes and groups; tickets for groups of 8 or more are available by phone. On Oct. 25, doors will open at 5 p.m., and the theater doors will close at 5:30.
WKYT anchor and political editor Bill Bryant and WLKY anchor Vicki Dortch will lead the hour-long discussion of key issues impacting Kentuckians. League policy will be followed.
“Eastern Kentucky University and our Center for the Arts are proud to partner with the League of Women Voters of Kentucky, WKYT and WLKY and their broadcast partners across the Commonwealth to provide voters the opportunity to hear directly from our gubernatorial candidates," said EKU President Michael Benson. "The EKU Center is an ideal venue to host such events, and we look forward to hosting many more in the years to come.”
Dortch said WLKY is “excited to partner with WKYT to bring you a live HD broadcast of our debate featuring the leading candidates for governor. We look forward to a packed house at EKU as the candidates discuss the critical issues facing Kentucky. Hearst Television/WLKY has been honored with the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism eight consecutive years for its commitment to covering local political issues.
“WKYT is proud to partner with WLKY and the League of Women Voters of Kentucky for the debates between candidates in the races for both governor and lieutenant governor,” said Bryant. “We look forward to a thorough discussion of the important issues facing Kentuckians in one of the final televised gubernatorial debates.”
The League of Women Voters of Kentucky is “pleased to co-sponsor a debate between candidates for the office of Governor,” said Terry Naydan, co-president of the state League. “We trust this debate will help inform our electorate about the important issues of the day in an interesting format. We hope many citizens will tune in to inform themselves about the candidates and where they stand on many topics.”
In addition to WLKY and WKYT, other television stations planning to air the debate on one of their broadcast channels include WYMT in Hazard; WBKO in Bowling Green; WPSD in Paducah; WLWT in Cincinnati; and WSAZ in Huntington.
EKU’s 2,014-seat Center for the Arts hosted a gubernatorial debate in 2011 as well as a Sixth District Congressional Debate in 2014.