Five GOP candidates attended the final gubernatorial debate of the season Tuesday, April 23. Photo is a screenshot from a livestream.

By Niki Kelly
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANA — All three candidates for Indiana governor have agreed to meet Thursday, Oct. 24, in a televised debate organized by the Indiana Debate Commission.

A news release Monday evening said the debate between Republican Mike Braun, Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater will be broadcast live, 7-8 p.m. Eastern Time, from the WFYI public television station in Indianapolis. Commission member Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political science professor and host of WICR radio’s “Positively Politics,” will moderate the debate.

“The Indiana Debate Commission looks forward to hosting a fair and informative discussion of the issues that matter most to Hoosier voters,” said Commission President Elizabeth Bennion, a political scientist and long-time debate organizer who was selected last month to lead the group.

“We appreciate the candidates’ willingness to participate in a live, televised debate that helps voters statewide understand the candidates’ positions and cast an informed vote,” she said.

It is the third announced debate for the governor’s race so far.

The commission’s April primary debate for Republicans was heavily criticized by candidates and the public. In June, Braun sent a release saying he would participate in only two general election debates, leaving a commission event in doubt.

The first debate will occur on Fox 59/CBS 4 Tuesday, Oct. 1, followed by a WISH-TV debate on Thursday, Oct. 3. Those two stations also hosted primary debates, relying on company criteria to winnow down the crowded Republican field.

According to the criteria for Fox 59/CBS 4, a statewide candidate must receive 5% in a primary test poll question — or 10% for a general election poll — and must report at least $100,000 in contributions, one-quarter of which must be from Hoosier residents.

The same qualifications, if applied to the 2024 general election, could potentially disqualify a third-party candidate like Rainwater, who won a historic 11.4% of the general election vote in the 2020 gubernatorial election.

This will be the commission’s 12th general election debate featuring Indiana gubernatorial candidates. IDC debates are provided to all media outlets statewide free of charge to broadcast live over-the-air or online.

The debate will also be livestreamed on the commission’s website at www.indianadebatecommission.com. Braun, McCormick, and Rainwater are vying to succeed Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is term-limited. As in the past, the debate will include all candidates on the ballot.

The commission will release a subsequent announcement soliciting questions from Hoosiers before the debate.

Founded in 2007, the Indiana Debate Commission is a non-partisan, statewide, volunteer organization. It is the oldest independent and non-partisan debate commission in the nation and reports a 100% acceptance rate for all candidates invited to participate in commission debates since its first debates in 2008.