Ryan Nicol
After weeks of back-and-forth between the candidates in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, the first debate in the race has been announced.
The one-hour, Spanish-language debate will air on Telemundo 51 on Saturday, Oct. 13. Republican Maria Elvira Salazar, Democrat Donna Shalala, and third-party entrant Mayra Joli were all on hand for the debate, which was taped Wednesday.
The meeting is set to air at 1 p.m. tomorrow and also live-streamed on Telemundo’s website. Marilys Llanos, Telemundo’s senior political reporter, served as moderator. She also moderated the recent U.S. Senate debate between Bill Nelson and Rick Scott.
It’s notable the candidates in CD 27 finally agreed to a sit-down. Shalala issued a debate challenge in early September, which appeared to be accepted by Salazar. But as of late September, candidates were still unable to agree on any set dates.
Now that has changed, though there still remains no English-language debate agreed upon by both Shalala and Salazar.
Recent polls have shown a tight contest between the two. Republican groups have gone after Shalala in a series of ads, while the candidates recently jumped into the fray with their own spots released this week.
