Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli will face off in the first general election debate of the race for Governor of New Jersey on Sunday, September 21, at 7:00 PM, sponsored by the New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey, and Rider University.
The Sherrill vs. Ciattarelli debate is presented by O’Toole Scrivo, LLC.
The ninety-minute debate will feature a town hall-style format with questions from students, faculty, parents, alums, employees, and community members from Rider, along with questions from New Jersey Globe Editor David Wildstein, Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University Director Micah Rasmussen, and New Jersey Monitor Reporter Sophie Nieto-Muñoz. Laura Jones of On New Jersey will moderate the debate.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is a debate sponsor. Additional debate sponsors include RWJ Barnabas Health and Prudential Financial.
Debate coverage will begin at 5 PM, brought to you by AARP of New Jersey, and will be led by New Jersey Globe reporter Joey Fox and Brian Thompson, the legendary former New Jersey news reporter for NBC 4. Thompson and Fox will resume debate coverage at 8:30, including post-debate press gaggles, interviews with Stomping Grounds analysts Alex Wilkes and Dan Bryan, and panel discussions.
The PSEG Foundation will sponsor the livestream.
The debate will be aired on the New Jersey Globe and On New Jersey websites, along with social media sites: Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter). C-SPAN will also air the debate, along with Local Now and News On.
The debate between Sherrill and Ciattarelli will also be available across multiple OTT Platforms: Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Samsung TV, YouTube TV, Amazon App Store, Twitch, Vizio, Fubo, Sling, Fios, Altice, Dish, IOS, Vimeo, Hisense, Xumo, Frndly, Google Android, Reflector, and Joox.
Sponsored by Audible, the gubernatorial debate will also be available on major podcast platforms: Spotify, Apple iTunes, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and YouTube.
To ensure inclusivity, the debate will be closed captioned in the following languages: Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, English, Spanish, European Portuguese, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Urdu.
Johnson and Johnson will host a pre-debate reception. Additional sponsors include the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and McCarter & English. Social media services will be provided by Mercury.
The debate is one of two authorized by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Under state law, gubernatorial candidates are required to participate in the two official ELEC debates as part of their acceptance of public funds under the New Jersey Gubernatorial Public Financing Program.
The Lieutenant Governor Debate is scheduled for Tuesday, September 30, at 7:00 PM at Kean University, sponsored by PIX11/WPIX-TV, PHL17/WPHL-TV, Kean University, and New Jersey 101.5. It will feature Republican James Gannon and Democrat Dale Caldwell. The debate will also be live-streamed on PIX11.com, PHL17.com, NJ101.5.com, and the station’s streaming app, PIX 11+. Candidates for lieutenant governor are also required to debate once as part of ELEC’s public financing.
The second Sherrill vs. Ciattarelli debate will be held on Wednesday, October 8, at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center at 7 PM. Moderated by Tamala Edwards and Bill Ritter, WABC and WPVI will broadcast the debate live, along with simultaneous streaming on all digital platforms, including websites (abc7ny.com and 6abc.com respectively), mobile apps, and streaming channels, for both stations as well as ABC News LIVE. WXTV Univision 41 New York will livestream the debate with Spanish Captioning.
The New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey and Rider University produced four gubernatorial debates during the primary election, and the first 2024 U.S. Senate debate between Democrat Andy Kim and Republican Curtis Bashaw. The New Jersey Globe and Rider University have produced over 30 debates since 2020.
