WPEC, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s West Palm Beach television station, today announced it will host a Gubernatorial debate on October 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, FL at 7 p.m., ET. WPEC’s Emmy-award winning anchor, Liz Quirantes, will moderate, asking the candidates about the most important issues in the state of Florida.

The debate will air live on Sinclair’s Florida stations, WPEC in West Palm Beach, WEAR in Pensacola, and WTWC in Tallahassee, partner station WGFL in 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 in Tampa and WMBB/Antenna TV in 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-TV 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.”

“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,” said Scott Livingston, Senior Vice President of News at Sinclair.

About WPEC:

WPEC-TV is the CBS affiliate serving the West Palm Beach, FL market (DMA 39) covering five (5) South Florida regional counties including Palm Beach, Martin, Saint Lucie, Okeechobee, and Indian River. More than 2 million residents call Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast home. WPEC-TV shares the West Palm Beach campus with other diversified Sinclair broadcast operations to include WTVX-TV (a CW affiliate), WTCN-CD (MyTV 15), WWHB-CD (Azteca 48), and the Sinclair Growth Networks Group (COMET, CHARGE!, and TBD). WPEC-TV’s brand is built on CBS affiliate programming and CBS 12 News, the highly investigative local news content. CBS 12 News produces seven (7) hours of original news content per weekday with extensive online (CBS12.com) and social media presence.

About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets; owns multiple national networks including Tennis Channel and Stadium; has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks and owns and/or operates 21 regional sports network brands. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital and streaming platforms NewsON and STIRR. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.

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