Gubernatorial debates set for Saturday

Press release

Ron Davis, Chair, Greater Montana Foundation and Greg Pace, Chair, Montana Broadcasters Association, announced that the two groups will hold debates for the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor Saturday.

The night will have two 60 minutes debates, one for each party.

Originally scheduled to take place at the MTN Studios in Great Falls, they will now take place virtually, with all participants in separate locations around the state. Broadcasts will not be live, local stations will need to be checked for dates and times. Stations have been requested to not broadcast earlier than 6 that evening.

Greater Montana Foundation is providing funding for the debates.

Davis and Pace said they are pleased to jointly sponsor these important debates, which are even more significant at this time, since candidates are not able to get out around the state meeting Montana voters.

Democratic candidates Lt. Governor Mike Cooney and businesswomen Whitney Williams and Republican candidates U.S. Rep, Greg Gianforte, Attorney General Tim Fox and Montana state Sen. Al Olszewski will participate

Ron Davis, GMF Board chair and president of Butte Broadcasting will serve as moderator. Panelists are Mike Dennison, Montana Television Network; Cyndny Koures, NBC Montana; and Taylor Tucker, Cowles Media.

Questions will not be available in advance nor solicited from the public. Panelists will decide on the questions.

Dennison is the chief political reporter for the Montana Television Network, based in Helena. He has been covering politics full-time in Montana for 28 years, with MTN, and earlier as a news reporter.

Cyndy Koures is assistant news Director at NBC Montana. A fifth-generation Montanan, she earlier spent most of her career in Spokane, in a variety of positions with KXLY TV and AM, garnering a number of awards.

Taylor Tucker is an award-winning anchor, reporter and producer at KFBB in Great Falls, Montana. Before moving from Wisconsin to Montana in 2015, she worked as an intern at the Center for Investigative Journalism and in other positions. She covers everyday issues for Montanans.

Davis and Pace encouraged all Montanans to take advantage of this opportunity to safely view debates among the candidates of both parties.