With just 10 days left before early voting begins, the seven major Democratic candidates in the race for Maryland governor on Tuesday are scheduled to engage in their longest televised debate yet.
The candidates will be questioned by a trio of panelists from The Baltimore Sun, WJZ-TV and the University of Baltimore’s Schaefer Center for Public Policy during a debate that will air at 6 p.m. on WJZ-TV.
The 75-minute, taped event is the third of five scheduled televised debates in the race. In the past, the candidates have spent most of their time attacking incumbent Republican Larry Hogan rather than distinguishing themselves from competitors.
The candidates in the debate are Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, former labor organizer Valerie Ervin, former NAACP CEO Ben Jealous, state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno, lawyer Jim Shea, author and tech entrepreneur Alec Ross and Krish Vignarajah, former policy director for First Lady Michelle Obama.
Two other Democrats are also on the June 26 ballot: teacher Ralph Jaffe and Baltimore police chaplain James Jones. Neither Jaffe or Jones have raised enough money or built a campaign infrastructure capable of a statewide campaign. This is the first debate where they will not be sharing the stage.
Early voting begins June 14. The Democratic primary election is June 26.