WPEC West Palm Beach To Host Florida Gubernatorial Debate

WPEC, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s CBS affiliate West Palm Beach, Fla., will host a gubernatorial debate on Oct. 12. Incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is running for a second term, and Democratic nominee Charlie Crist will participate in the first televised debate between the two candidates.

The debate will be held at the Sunrise Theater in Fort Pierce, Fla., at 7 p.m. ET. WPEC anchor, Liz Quirantes, will moderate. The debate will air live on Sinclair’s Florida stations — WPEC West Palm Beach, WEAR Pensacola and WTWC Tallahassee — partner station WGFL Gainesville and the respective station websites as well as The National Desk’s YouTube Page. The debate will also air live on Nexstar’s Florida stations: WFLA Tampa and WMBB Panama City.

Additional broadcast partners will be announced leading up to the debate.

Commenting on the announcement, Mike Pumo, WPEC VP, General Manager, said: “WPEC CBS 12 News is excited for the opportunity to showcase our state democracy at work with this live broadcast from the great city of Fort Pierce. This upcoming election will have significant impact on our communities, our state and our nation and CBS 12 News is proud to participate in this important moment in Florida’s history.”

Scott Livingston, Sinclair senior vice president of news, said: “The debate, part of Sinclair’s ‘Your Voice, Your Future’ series, continues our nationwide commitment to delivering local news and content that informs and impacts our communities, and we are pleased the candidates have selected WPEC as their platform for the debate.”