The commission confirmed seven primary candidates for the Republican Senate debate, three candidates for the Democratic Senate debate and two candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial debate.
The Republican debate for Ohio governor candidates was canceled after Gov. Mike DeWine announced he would not participate, prompting others to pull out.
ODC Board President Dan Moulthrop called what happened with the Republican debate “disappointing,” but added, “when the incumbent chooses not to debate, it’s not surprising that others in the race have less incentive to do so as well.”
The debate commission said it has collected questions from voters for the governor candidates and is discussing how to create a platform for them to provide answers.
The three debates will take place March 28 and 29 at Central State University in Wilberforce, starting with the U.S. Senate Democratic candidates from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on March 28, followed by the Republican U.S. Senate candidate debate from 7 to 8:30 p.m. that night. The Ohio Democratic governor candidate debate will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on March 29.
U.S. Senate Democratic candidates include:
- Morgan Harper
- Traci “TJ” Johnson
- Congressman Tim Ryan
U.S. Senate Republican candidates include:
- State Senator Matt Dolan
- Mike Gibbons
- Josh Mandel
- Neil Patel
- Mark Pukita
- Jane Timken
- J.D. Vance
Democratic candidates for Ohio governor include:
- John Cranley
- Nan Whaley
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