EIGHTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, PA — Congressman Matt Cartwright (D, PA-08) and challenger Rob Bresnahan (R) have both agreed to a late October debate, with Bresnahan calling for more than one debate to take place before the election. 

Cartwright and Bresnahan are competing for the Eighth Congressional District of Pennsylvania seat in the House of Representatives. The election will take place Tuesday, November 5. 

WVIA, the non-profit PBS and NPR member station for Northeastern Pennsylvania, will host the debate at Wilkes-Barre's King's College Burke Auditorium on either Tuesday,  October 22 or Wednesday, October 23, just two weeks before the election. The debate will be brodcast on WVIA-TV and WVIA Radio.  

Cartwright announced on Wednesday, August 21 that he had accepted WVIA's invitation for the debate.

"For nearly two decades, WVIA has provided a valuable platform for area voter to evaluate who they will choose to represent them in Washington," said campaign spokesperson MG Darmody. "Congressman Cartwright looks forward to sharing with his constituents exactly where he stands on issues that are important to them."

Bresnahan announced his acceptance of the debate the same day. 

"It's disappointing that Congressman Cartwright is only agreeing to a single debate over a month after early voting starts and just days before the election, showing a total lack of respect for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania," Bresnahan said. "Voters deserve more than a single debate to hear why Congressman Cartwright has repeatedly voted against securing the border and wasteful spending driving inflation on essentials like groceries and gas."

Bresnahan's campaign said it agreed with local television station WBRE/WYOU to discuss details of another debate in late September or early October, and called on Cartwright to agree to the debate.