Politics
Shapiro and Garrity agree to debate on Oct. 7
Governor Josh Shapiro and State Treasurer Stacy Garrity have scheduled a televised gubernatorial debate for October 7, hosted by Nexstar Media.
By John Cole · 2026-09-03T18:23:21.340Z
The Center Square – Gov. Josh Shapiro and State Treasurer Stacy Garrity will face off for a televised debate next month.
The event between the gubernatorial candidates, scheduled to take place on Oct. 7 at 8 p.m., will be hosted by Nexstar Media Inc. and moderated by ABC27’s Dennis Owens https://www.abc27.com/author/dennis owens/ .
Shapiro, a Democrat who was elected to the office in 2022, is seeking a second term this November, while Garrity, a two term State Treasurer Republican, is attempting to unseat him.
According to ABC27 https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania governor election/josh shapiro stacy garrity agree to nexstar hosted governors debate in harrisburg/ , the debate will air on Nexstar television stations serving the commonwealth: WHTM TV ABC in Harrisburg/Lancaster, Lebanon, York, WPHL TV MyNetworkTV in Philadelphia, WTAJ TV CBS in Johnstown/Altoona/State College, WBRE TV NBC and WYOU TV CBS in Scranton/Wilkes Barre/Hazleton, and WJET TV ABC and WFXP TV FOX in Erie. The outlet added that the debate will also be streamed on each station’s smart television apps, available on Roku, AppleTV, Samsung, and Amazon FireTV devices, and YouTube platforms.
The showdown between Shapiro and Garrity next month will be the first time candidates for governor have debated since 2018. During the 2022 cycle, Shapiro and GOP state Sen. Doug Mastriano couldn’t agree to terms to a debate.
In place of a one on one debate between both gubernatorial candidates hosted by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Shapiro accepted an invitation to address members https://www.abc27.com/local news/oz shapiro speak at pa chamber of business and industry annual dinner/ at the organization’s annual dinner.
In 2018, Gov. Tom Wolf and GOP state Sen. Scott Wagner met for one gubernatorial debate https://whyy.org/articles/2018 pennsylvania gubernatorial debate/ , which was hosted by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and moderated by “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek.
It is unclear if the debate between Shapiro and Garrity on Oct. 7 will be the only time the candidates meet face to face for a debate.
Last week, the Garrity campaign announced that they accepted two debate invitations https://www.leadertimes.com/news/garrity accepts offer for tv debates shapiros supporters slam garrity/article de3adb08 28d4 4e6d 854c 538a832bc0ba.html . One would have been held at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s annual dinner, while the other would have been hosted by KDKA TV.
Shapiro is viewed as the favorite in the race to win a second term. Most polling throughout the race has shown Shapiro leading Garrity by double digits, while national ratings outlets, like the Cook Political Report https://www.cookpolitical.com/governor/race/479581 , describe the race as “Solid Democratic.”
The last day to register to vote https://www.pa.gov/services/vote/register to vote for the 2026 general election is Oct 19. The last day to request a mail in or absentee ballot https://www.pa.gov/services/vote/apply for a mail in or absentee ballot for the upcoming general election is Oct. 27.
Polls https://www.pa.gov/services/vote/find your local polling place will be open for Election Day on Nov. 3 from 7 A.M. to 8 P.M.
This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article 2de09f87 01a2 4c63 afc2 5aa947bcc5b1.html .