MISSOULA, Mont. — As the campaign trail comes to a close, Montana PBS will host a debate Monday night between U.S. Senate candidates Jon Tester and Tim Sheehy.

The debate will take place on the University of Montana campus in Missoula at 7 p.m. and last one hour.

This debate will allow Tester and Sheehy to present in-depth answers and cover a wide range of topics, with local faculty and staff officials fact-checking what candidates have to say.

Full edition:

Montana PBS will host a debate featuring Montana U.S. Senate candidates Jon Tester and Tim Sheehy on Monday, September 30 at 7 p.m.

The one-hour debate will take place live from a Montana PBS studio on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula. It will feature incumbent U.S. Senator Tester, a Democrat, and Sheehy, the Republican challenger, debating issues and answering questions from Montana PBS journalists John Twiggs and Anna Rau. There is no live audience in the studio during the debate.

The format allows Tester and Sheehy to present in-depth answers, said Aaron Pruitt, president and general manager of KSUM-TV/Montana PBS. There will also be an opportunity for direct exchange and, possibly, for the candidates to question each other.

“Our live studio debate format provides Montana viewers with an up-close look at the candidates for U.S. Senate and allows for dynamic interaction on our state’s most pressing issues,” said Pruitt. “This debate, along with our other pre-election programming, aims to provide voters with as much information as possible before they cast their ballots in 2024.”

The debate will be broadcast live on Montana Public Radio, Yellowstone Public Radio, online at montanapbs.org/live and on the Montana PBS Facebook page.

A team of faculty and students from the University of Montana School of Journalism will fact-check the debate. Their work will be available online later that evening at montanapbs.org/programs/ElectionCoverage.

Pruitt noted that the selection of candidates invited to participate in the debate meets Montana PBS’s established debate participation criteria, which are available for review at montanapbs.org/about/publicinformation.

The production of Montana PBS candidate debates is made possible with support from the Friends of Montana PBS and the Greater Montana Foundation. Montana PBS is a service of Montana State University and the University of Montana. It includes KUSM-TV in Bozeman, KUFM-TV in Missoula, KUKL-TV in Kalispell, KBGS-TV in Billings, KUGF-TV in Great Falls and KUHM-TV in Helena. For more information, visit montanapbs.org.