New Jersey 101.5 to host only GOP debate for governor

You can drive the debate in the race for governor.

Tonight will be the only chance you have to hear from the two main candidates who hope to take on Governor Phil Murphy in the November. Jack Ciattarelli and Hirsh Singh will face off in a live debate from the New Jersey 101.5 studios at 7 p.m.

A second debate was scheduled for Wednesday night sponsored by NJ PBS, but it has been canceled. The reason for the cancellation is not entirely clear. NJ PBS issued a statement saying Singh refused to provide a negative COVID-19 test prior to the debate.

Singh claimed on social medial that the network wanted him to take a COVID test and get vaccinated. NJ PBS told NJ.com there was a requirement each candidate provide proof of a negative COVID test to ensure the safety of their production crew, but there was never a requirement the candidates be vaccinated.

Regardless, the NJ PBS debate has been canceled.

For almost 30 years, candidates seeking statewide office have made appearances on New Jersey 101.5 to connect directly with the people they are asking to vote for them. Unlike traditional debate formats, the majority of questions will be asked by voters. No candidate, campaign or outside group will know which questions will be asked until we ask them live on air. Here is how you submit your question. A live video feed of the debate can also be viewed at Facebook.com/nj1015 and on the free New Jersey 101.5 app.

There are actually four republican candidates for governor, but Ciattarelli and Singh are the only candidates that qualified for the official debates sanctioned by the Election Law Enforcement commission.

The decision to exclude Brian Levine and Phil Rizzo was  made by ELEC and not New Jersey 101.5.

New Jersey 101.5's Senior State House Correspondent Michael Symons profiled all four candidates.  Clink on the candidates name to read more about them.

• Jack Ciattarelli
• Hirsh Singh
• Phil Rizzo
• Brian Levine

Republican voters will chose the candidate they want to take on Gov. Murphy when polls open on June 8. Polling places will be open for in-person voting. You can find the location of your polling place here.

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