Democrat Candidates For Texas Governor Debating In Austin Friday

AUSTIN, TX — The two Democratic candidates for Texas governor will face off in an Austin debate, event organizers said Tuesday.

Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and attorney Andrew White will debate on Friday, May 11, at St. James Episcopal Church 1941 Webberville Rd. in East Austin. The debate was organized to a coalition of grassroots organizations, including the State Tejano Democrats, Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, Texas College Democrats, Texas Young Democrats, Texas Stonewall Democrats and the Travis County Democratic Party.

"The people asked for a debate, and grassroots groups delivered," coalition leader James Lee said.

Gromer Jeffers, political writer for the Dallas Mornings News and co-host of a Dallas political affairs program, is scheduled to moderate the event. The event at St. James Episcopal Church is just ten minutes from downtown Austin. Austin news station KXAN will provide a live stream of the event at KXAN.com, organizers said.

Doors to the church will open at 6 p.m. with the debate scheduled from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Organizers noted the venue has a maximum seating capacity of 250 people. A limited number of tickets will be made available to the public free of charge on Tuesday, May 8, starting at 6 p.m. CST. The link will be published in the official Facebook event.

Those unable to attend the event in person may attend a number of Grassroots Debate Watch Parties taking place across the state. To register for a watch party, use the Google form here. For social media purposes, the official hashtag for the debate is #txgovdebate.

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