NSU to Host Senatorial and Gubernatorial Debates Oct. 19 and 20

Nova Southeastern University will become Florida’s political epicenter as it hosts live televised debates in the races for Senator and Governor on back-to-back nights Oct. 19 and 20.

On Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m., U.S. Senate candidates Kendrick Meek (D) and Marco Rubio (R), along with independent candidate Charlie Crist, are committed to debate at NSU’s Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center in front of an audience of more than 400.

Gubernatorial candidates Alex Sink (D) and Rick Scott (R) will participate in the first of only two statewide televised LIVE debates in the race for Governor on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. also at the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center and televised statewide.

Attendance to the debates is by invitation only and there are no tickets available to the general public or general NSU community.  However, a live viewing each night of the debates will be available for NSU students, faculty and staff in the Knight Auditorium in the Carl DeSantis Building, followed by discussion and polling. Debate viewings will also be available on the North Miami Beach campus, East campus and Student Educational Centers in Jacksonville, Miami, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers. Room locations will be announced.

The debates are part of the “Decision 2010: Before You Vote” project created and produced by the partnership of Leadership Florida and the Florida Press Association. The sponsors for the “Decision 2010: Before You Vote” debate series are Nova Southeastern University, the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, AARP, the Florida League of Mayors, and the Claude Pepper Center and Foundation.

“In an election that will determine the course for Florida in a critical time in this state’s history, Nova Southeastern University is honored to host the gubernatorial and senatorial debates and play a role in helping the public make an informed decision,” said NSU Chancellor Ray Ferrero Jr.  “It seems very appropriate to have an educational institution serve this purpose.”

The LIVE statewide broadcasts of the U.S. Senate and Governor races’ debates will be produced by WFOR-TV/Ch. 4, the Miami-Dade/Broward region’s CBS affiliate. The programs will be broadcast statewide through a consortium of television stations that includes WFOR-TV (in the South Florida region of Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward counties); WKMG-TV/Ch. 6 (CBS) in Orlando; WJXT-TV/Ch. 4 in Jacksonville; WPTV-TV/Ch. 5 (NBC) in West Palm Beach; WFTS-TV/Ch. 28 (ABC) in Tampa/St. Petersburg; WCTV-TV/Ch. 6 (CBS) in Tallahassee; WJHG-TV/Ch. 7 (NBC) in Panama City; WINK-TV/Ch. 11 (CBS) in Ft. Myers; WCJB-TV/Ch. 20 (ABC) in Gainesville; WEAR-TV/Ch. 3 (ABC) in Pensacola; and WWSB-TV/Ch. 7 (ABC) in Sarasota.

For the Oct. 19 U.S. Senate debate, candidates will respond to questions from a panel of Florida journalists, including William March of the The Tampa Tribune, Myriam Marquez of the The Miami Herald, and Michael Williams, Political Reporter for WFOR-TV, CBS-Ch. 4 in Miami.  WFOR anchorman, Antonio Mora, will moderate. The following night, Gubernatorial candidates Scott and Sink  will answer questions from Florida journalists Kelley Dunn, co-anchor for WPTV Ch. 5, the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Antonio Fins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and Adam Smith of the St. Petersburg Times.  WFOR anchorman, Antonio Mora, will also moderate this debate.