Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany will meet in late October for the only confirmed debate between the two candidates running in the state’s first open race for governor in more than 15 years.

The one-hour debate, hosted by WISN 12, will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 21. It will be held at the Lubar Center at Marquette University Law School’s Eckstein Hall and will be conducted without an in-person audience.

Debate hosts plan to ask the two candidates about issues ranging from the cost of living and taxes to immigration enforcement, data centers and election security.

Tiffany has benefitted from a largely open field on the GOP side. The Hazelhurst Republican, who has been backed by President Donald Trump, easily won the Aug. 11 GOP primary to win a spot on the November ballot.

Crowley dropped out of the race in early July only to reenter the contest 10 days later after his preferred candidate, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, ended her campaign. With backing from departing Gov. Tony Evers, Crowley saw his support surge in the final weeks of the campaign, lead to his narrow victory over state Rep. Francesca Hong in the Democratic primary.

Marquette Law School polling released last week found the two gubernatorial candidates were effectively tied heading into the Nov. 3 matchup.

Among likely voters, 98% of Democrats said they would back Crowley, as would 55% of independent voters. For Tiffany, 91% of Republicans said they would vote for him, as would 16% of independents. Overall, about 7% of likely voters said they remained undecided, with the majority of those being independents. About 30% of independents say they’re undecided, compared with 6% of Republicans and 2% of Democrats.

But among registered voters, independents find themselves more undecided, with 47% unsure whether they’d vote for Crowley or Tiffany, which amounts to 12% of all registered voters.

Political polls measure public opinion at the time a survey is conducted. They do not predict results or guarantee how people will vote on Election Day.