Maxwell Frost, Calvin Wimbish to debate Thursday in Orlando congressional race
Orlando congressional candidates Maxwell Frost and Calvin Wimbish will face off in a televised debate Thursday night.
Co-hosted by the Orlando Sentinel and Spectrum News 13, the event will be shown live from 7 to 7:30 p.m. on Spectrum News 13 and live-streamed on OrlandoSentinel.com.
Moderators for the event will be News 13 anchor Ybeth Bruzual and Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell.
Democrat Frost, 25, a gun reform activist, gained national attention after his victory in a crowded Democratic primary field as potentially the first Gen Z congressman.
Republican Wimbish, 72, is a retired Army Green Beret and calls himself a “fierce America First conservative.”
Frost and Wimbish, along with independent candidate Jason Holic, are seeking to succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. Val Demings in congressional District 10 in Orange County. The district is heavily Democratic.
The district was redrawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year to include less of its Black voter population, which along with the breaking up of U.S. Rep. Al Lawson’s district in North Florida was the subject of controversy during the legislative session and led to a sit-in protest on the floor of the state House. Frost and Wimbish are both Black.
The Sentinel and News 13 previously hosted a forum with Frost, Wimbish and other congressional primary candidates for districts 10, 9 and 7 in August, also moderated by Bruzual and Maxwell.
While that event was a “conversation” with the candidates, Thursday’s event will be in a true debate format, with the candidates able to respond to the other’s answers.
Mail-in voting for the election has already begun, with early voting set to begin two weeks prior to Election Day on Nov. 8.
Complete election coverage can be found at OrlandoSentinel.com/election.
