GOP Candidates Confirm USF Debate Attendance

The  takes place at 9 p.m. today at the  in Tampa, and all four qualifying candidates will be there.

According to Mark Lukasiewicz, senior vice president of specials for NBC News, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have all confirmed their attendance.

“Florida has often been the stage for history in politics — we look forward to hosting a substantive and stimulating forum for the candidates to make their case to the voters in this crucial state and the whole country,” Lukasiewicz said in a statement issued Saturday.

NBC will air the debate live beginning at 9 p.m. It will be the first weekday primetime airing of a primary debate on a broadcast network in the 2012 election cycle. The debate will also stream live on nbcpolitics.com, nationaljournal.com and tampabay.com. Telemundo will broadcast the debate in its entirety with simultaneous Spanish-language translation.

The debate is sponsored by NBC News, National Journal and the Tampa Bay Times, in association with the Florida Council of 100. It will be moderated by NBC’s Brian Williams and will include a panel with National Journal’s Beth Reinhard and the Tampa Bay Times’ Adam Smith.

The event has led to some temporary changes in operations at the university. Find out about:

• Which parking lots will be closed
• Changes in operations at the Marshall Student Center

Stay with Patch for updates about the debate.