Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Republican Tom Foley will debate for the first time tonight in Norwich for a crowd of about 400 people.
There may not be live television coverage, but Connecticut Network said it would try to air it live depending on the signal they’re able to get from the site.
The debate hosted by the Norwich Bulletin starts at 7 p.m. and will last an hour.
Malloy and Foley, who faced each other in 2010, are not unfamiliar foes. They debated each other six times in 2010 and will face each other five or six more times before this year’s November election.
The format of tonight’s debate will be more conversational and not the traditional question and answer format with a limit on how much can be said on each topic. Each candidate will be given 25 minutes to use as they see fit, taking as much or as little time as they feel is necessary to respond to the questions or each other. The two candidates will be seated on stage along with Ray Hackett of the Norwich Bulletin, who will be moderating the debate.
Joe Visconti, the third gubernatorial candidate whose name will be on the ballot in November, won’t be on stage tonight.
The Norwich Bulletin explained that the format for the debate was set prior to Visconti qualifying for the ballot.
It’s unclear if Visconti will be allowed to participate in future debates. Foley has said he has no problem with it.
A video recording of the debate will be available Thursday at NorwichBulletin.com.