UPDATE: All 415 public tickets for the October 8 U.S. Senate debate in Westville have been claimed. Details for the debate were announced this morning. For those who cannot attend in person, C-SPAN will be carrying the debate live and the debate commission will stream live. Tickets were also claimed in a similar short window for the second Senate debate scheduled for October 30 in Indianapolis.
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The Indiana Debate Commission invites the general public to reserve free tickets for its first U.S. Senate debate at Purdue University Northwest in Westville, Ind., on October 8. The commission is offering 415 general admission tickets for the debate, featuring incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly, Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton.
The debate, the first of two sponsored by the independent, nonpartisan commission, will begin at 7 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. local time) at Purdue Northwest’s James B. Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex, 1401 S. U.S. 421 in Westville, Ind.
Public tickets can be reserved online only at the following link: https://bit.ly/2wIPAfc. There is a limit of two tickets per person, and attendees must agree to follow the commission’s house rules for a live debate broadcast.
“With growing interest in the 2018 midterm elections, the commission chose a college campus to reach many of our first-time voters,” said commission President Gerry Lanosga. “Students and the community at large will be able to hear the candidates explain their public policy positions – and hear what is most pressing to Hoosier voters.”
Indiana voters can suggest questions to be asked at both of the scheduled Senate debates. Questions can be submitted at the commission’s website up until the final debate on October 30. Select voters may be invited to ask their questions live at the debates. Other selected public questions will be asked by the moderators.
The moderator for the Westville debate, which will be produced by PBS39 (WFWA-Fort Wayne), will be Anne Ryder, a veteran broadcaster now teaching at the Indiana University Media School.
The commission previously announced details for its October 30 debate in Indianapolis. Tickets for that event are already claimed. The second and final of the two debates will be moderated by Amna Nawaz, an anchor at PBS NewsHour.
Both debates will be broadcast and livestreamed by Indiana media outlets, carried live on the Indiana Debate Commission website and broadcast by C-SPAN. All debates are also archived on the commission’s website and YouTube channel.