Gubernatorial Candidates Debate on the Radio

MANCHESTER, NH — New England College is hosting a series of primary debates between candidates for major offices in New Hampshire, including Congress and Governor. Working with media partners WGIR radio, NECN and the Concord Monitor, the live debates will be held in the Manchester studios as part of “New Hampshire Today” with Jack Heath.

The Republican candidates for governor will be on the air from 8 to 9 a.m. on July 27, 2016. The Democrats will be on the air on Aug. 10. Republicans running for the 2nd Congressional District will debate on Aug. 17. Last week, two of the five 1st Congressional District primary candidates debated.

“These races are taking shape and there’s not much time before the voters must head to the polls to decide these primaries,” said Jack Heath, moderator and questioner for the series of radio debates, and host of NH Today, on iHeartRadio. “We will explore a number of issues that are important to the people of our state, including health care, the drug epidemic, the budget, jobs and veterans’ issues. We are honored to host these in-studio debates.”

As media co-sponsor, The Concord Monitor’s Allie Morris and Jonathan VanFleet will participate in each of the four radio debates. New England Cable News will provide spot news coverage of the debate series. In addition, Dr. Wayne Lesperance, of New England College, will provide commentary for each of the debates.

“As sponsor and organizer of these primary debates, we hope to be fulfilling a critical public service by creating a process that will help inform voters going into the September primary,” explained Lesperance. “This is an historic election cycle and we know that in a presidential cycle, voter turnout is typically very high. These races are also important to the future of our state and our country, and we are thrilled to be playing a small, but critical role in the election process.”

Working closely with New England Cable News, WGIR, and The Concord Monitor as media partners, New England College intends to host a similar series of live, televised debates in October, featuring the primary winners and candidates for major office in New Hampshire this fall. Organizers are finalizing details for those upcoming debates, which will be hosted on campus at NEC in Henniker.

Submitted by Scott Spradling.