KQED will air debate live on television, radio and online as part of the California Counts Collaborative.
The top four candidates running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer will take to the stage for a one-hour live debate on Tuesday, May 10, at 7pm, in San Diego. The debate, produced in partnership with KPBS, KPCC, Capital Public Radio and Univision, will air live on KQED 9 and KQED 88.5 FM and stream on KQED.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 — a first for KQED, Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, KPCC in Los Angeles and KPBS in San Diego —focuses on major issues and solicits diverse voices on what’s important to the future of California. “The California Counts Collaborative is allowing us to do more by sharing resources,” noted Holly Kernan, KQED’s executive editor for news. “This debate is another great example of that.”
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.