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Constance Crawford | (916) 278-8955
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Sacramento, Calif; May 3, 2016 - Capital Public Radio, as part of the multi-station California Counts election collaborative, will co-host a one-hour live debate on Tuesday, May 10, with the top five candidates running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer. The 7 p.m. debate will air live on 90.9 FM Capital Public Radio News and stream on
capradio.org.
The candidates confirmed to appear are California Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, both Democrats, and George "Duf" Sundheim and Tom Del Beccaro, both former heads of the California Republican Party. Republican entrepreneur Ron Unz also will participate. The debate will be held the day after mail-in ballots for the June 7 primary begin to be sent to voters.
The debate is part of the California Counts Collaborative, an election coverage initiative from the state's leading public media newsrooms. The partnership is a first for KQED in San Francisco, Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, KPCC in Los Angeles and KPBS in San Diego. California Counts coverage focuses on major issues and solicits diverse voices on what's important to the future of California.
The debate, hosted by KPBS investigative reporter Amita Sharma, will be held before a studio audience made up largely of millennial voters and San Diego State University students. The debate panelists will be Scott Shafer, senior editor for KQED's California Politics and Government Desk; Mary Plummer, senior politics reporter for KPCC; Linnea Edmeier, managing editor for Capital Public Radio; and Marco Serrano, reporter for Univision San Diego.
KPBS will make the debate available to all public and commercial media organizations in California. KQED, Capital Public Radio, KPCC and KCET in Los Angeles are expected to carry the debate live.
Debate organizers are encouraging the public to engage on social media before, during and after the debate using #CAcounts.
"This debate is one of the few opportunities for Californians to hear directly from the candidates in this key race," said Joe Barr, Capital Public Radio chief content officer. "We're proud to be part of this public media collaboration that was created to provide voters with reliable, unbiased information."
