The only scheduled gubernatorial debate in western Massachusetts will be held Monday in Springfield.The debate will feature Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Charlie Baker. Three independents, Evan Falchuk, Jeff McCormick and Scott Lively have also been invited.
Polls have Coakley, the state’s attorney general and Baker the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare and cabinet member under Republican governors Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci, in a dead heat.
State Senator Ben Downing of Pittsfield chairs the Democrats’ coordinated campaign.
“The polls are up and down and I think they will be for the rest of the election,” Downing said. “You saw recently a WBUR poll had Martha Coakley up 10 points, The [Boston] Globe had Charlie Baker up two. Let’s just call it what it is, it’s a tight race.”
The debate at CityStage Theater starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.