Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates Debate Tonight

Farouk Shami

Houston businessman Farouk Shami and former Houston mayor Bill White will debate for the first time tonight at 7 p.m. in Dallas in "The Texas Debates - Race for Governor," ahead of the March 2 primary election to decide who will represent the party on the gubernatorial ticket this November.

The other candidates vying for the Democratic spot on the ticket are Alma Aguado, Felix Alvarado, William Dear, Clement Glenn and Star Locke, who were not invited to participate because they did not meet the debate organizers' criteria.

Bill White

The format will be similar to the first GOP candidates' debate, and will be moderated by CBS 11 News (Dallas) anchor Karen Borta.  KUVN Univision 23 Reporter María Renée Barillas will field questions from the live audience.  Questions will also be posed by panelists Shelley Kofler, KERA-FM and KERA-TV and Dave Montgomery of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

You can watch the debate live in Austin on KVUE.3, KLRU and News 8 Austin, or listen to the live radio broadcast on KXBT 98.9 FM.  The debate can also be seen online at KVUE.com or at texasdebates.org.  The debate will be rebroadcast on KUT 90.5 FM at 8 p.m., KVUE this Saturday at 5 p.m., and in Spanish on Univision this Saturday at 10 a.m.