Louisiana voters will get their first chance to see all four major gubernatorial candidates in a televised debate Thursday, the campaigns confirmed to Gannett Louisiana over the weekend.
It may be the only time Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter appears with Republican Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and Democrat state Rep. John Bel Edwards in a format where the candidates don’t have the questions in advance.
WDSU-TV of New Orleans is hosting the debate, which will air at 6 p.m. and be streamed live on the station’s website and shown on various other TV outlets in the state.
Vitter’s campaign tells Gannett Louisiana the only other debate or forum to which the senator has committed is one tentatively scheduled at Louisiana Tech University on Oct. 15. The candidates will be provided the questions in advance for that event.
Angelle, Dardenne and Edwards have criticized Vitter for his sparse debate appearances, especially where the questions are provided to the camps in advance. Other upcoming debates or forums include WVLA-TV on Oct. 7, Louisiana Public Broadcasting on Oct. 15, Raycom on Oct. 19 and at LSU on Oct. 21.
The primary election will take place in less than a month on Oct. 24. If no single candidate garners the majority of the vote—and the polls released thus far indicate that will be the case—a runoff election for the top two primary finishers will take place on Nov. 21.
