Chris Christie and Barbara Buono meet in first debate tonight

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and state Senator Barbara Buono will appear in their first debate tonight in Wayne, N.J.

The debate will air live at 7 p.m. on KYW-TV in Philadelphia and WCBS in New York and on Newsradio 1060 AM in Philadelphia,and Newsradio 880 AM in New York.  

The debate is being held on the William Paterson University campus, 25 miles northwest of New York City.

Earlier today, the Republican candidate Christie told campaign volunteers in East Brunswick that he simply plans to be himself.

He said he has nothing to worry about and the matchup is “going to be fun.” He says viewers won’t be the least bit surprised by what they see from him.

Polls have shown the Republican governor with a strong lead over Democrat Buono, a state senator, in his bid for a second term.

A second gubernatorial debate is scheduled for Oct 15 at 8 p.m. from Montclair State University, about 20 miles northwest of New York City. The 90 minute debate will be televised live by NJTV.

Both debates will feature only the major party candidates. The other candidates running for governor in New Jersey include: William Araujo with Peace and Freedom, Jeff Boss with the NSA Did 911 organization, Kenneth R. Kaplan of the Libertarian Party, Diane W. Sare with Glass-Steagall Now, Hank Schroeder an Independent, Steven Welzer of the Green Party.

The election is Nov. 5.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report