Democratic Candidates for Governor of Kentucky to Debate at UK
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 15, 2019) — Four candidates in the Democratic Primary for governor of Kentucky are participating in a debate on the University of Kentucky campus today, less than one week before the May 21 Election Day.
Candidates Rocky Adkins, Andy Beshear, Adam Edelen and Geoff Young are participating in the debate that is co-sponsored by the UK Student Government Association, the League of Women Voters of Kentucky/Lexington and Gray Television and its nine TV stations serving Kentucky, which include WKYT in Lexington; WAVE in Louisville; WBKO in Bowling Green; WYMT in Hazard; WXIX in Cincinnati; WSAZ in Huntington, West Virginia; WFIE in Evansville, Indiana; WVLT in Knoxville, Tennessee; and KFVS in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
The debate is free and open to the public to observe live in the UK Gatton Student Center Ballroom from 3-4 p.m. Audience members will be asked to be seated by 2:45 p.m. when doors to the ballroom will be closed.
The debate is being livestreamed on several Gray Television stations, and WAVE is also broadcasting the event live at 3 p.m. EDT. Other Gray Television stations will livestream and/or have a delayed broadcast of the debate in its entirety. Please see the full list below. Bill Bryant, WKYT news anchor, and Shannon Cogan, WAVE news anchor, will moderate the debate.
"We are thrilled to be able to host an event that puts Kentucky’s students in front of their potential representatives," UK Student Government Vice President Katherine Speece said. "The challenges we face today as Kentuckians are ever evolving, and as students we desire to have a governor who will not only represent our interests but protect our future.”
All candidates for governor were invited to participate. Gov. Matt Bevin is being challenged by State Rep. Robert Goforth, William Woods and Ike Lawrence. Because Bevin and Goforth declined invitations to participate, a similar debate for Republican candidates was canceled.
The League of Women Voters of Kentucky’s nonpartisan policies for primary races will be followed, and questions for the candidates have been solicited from university students across the state as well as the debate sponsors. Questions will be selected by the sponsors in order to cover a wide range of topics of interest to Kentucky citizens.
“The League of Women Voters sponsors debates to help citizens make informed decisions when we vote,” said Fran Wagner, president of the League of Women Voters of Kentucky. “Don’t forget to vote on May 21st. You can make a difference!”
The debate will air on the following stations and their websites:
WAVE Louisville, Kentucky
3 p.m. Wednesday: Over the air on WAVE, streaming on wave3.com
WKYT Lexington, Kentucky
3 p.m. Wednesday: Streaming on wkyt.com
7 p.m. Wednesday: Over the air on The CW Lexington
WBKO Bowling Green, Kentucky
9 p.m. (Central Time) Wednesday: Over the air on WBKO-DT2 (Fox)
WYMT Hazard, Kentucky
3 p.m. Wednesday: Streaming on wymt.com
7 p.m. Wednesday: Over the air on WYMT
WSAZ Huntington, West. Virginia
7 p.m. Wednesday: Over the air on TriState CW, streaming on wsaz.com
WFIE Evansville, Indiana
2 p.m. (Central Time) Wednesday: Streaming on 14news.com
KFVS Cape Girardeau, Missouri
6 p.m. (Central Time) Thursday: Over the air on WQWQ 12.2