(Inside California Politics) — The top candidates for governor will soon face off in a televised debate, hosted exclusively on KRON4 and all California Nexstar stations. Nexstar Media Group, KRON4’s parent company, announced the debate Thursday. The multi-market event will air live at 7 p.m. o n Wednesday, April 22. “Debate Night in California: The Race for Governor” will be moderated by Inside California Politics host and FOX40 news anchor Nikki Laurenzo and longtime KTLA5 morning news anchor Frank Buckley. It will be broadcast live from KRON4’s broadcast studios in San Francisco. Poll shows major reshuffling in California governor’s race “Nexstar is extremely pleased to be able to offer this forum for California voters to hear from the candidates seeking to be governor of the state,” Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division, said on Thursday. "This is a consequential election year in California, as voters will decide who they want to lead the most populous state in the country," Laurenzo said. "With Nexstar's reach across California on all platforms, the governor's debate gives millions of voters the opportunity to see where the top candidates stand on the important issues affecting their daily lives." Nexstar used specific and objective criteria to determine which candidates qualify for the debate. Candidates polling at or above 5% in an Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics survey released Wednesday will take the stage in San Francisco, less than two weeks before the start of early voting. That means five candidates are eligible to participate in the debate: U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (D) Conservative commentator Steve Hilton (R) Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) Billionaire activist Tom Steyer (D) Former U.S. Representative Katie Porter (D) All candidates except Porter have accepted Nexstar’s invitation, the company announced. One-quarter of voters say they are still undecided, leaving the race wide open and raising the stakes as candidates make their closing pitch to Californians. The Nexstar debate will air across California on KRON4 in San Francisco, KTLA5 in Los Angeles, FOX5/KUSI in San Diego, FOX40 in Sacramento, CBS47/KSEE24 in Fresno and KGET17 in Bakersfield as well as other partner stations — stations that reach nearly 12 million homes. The event will also stream across Nexstar’s digital platforms, including excerpts airing nationwide on The Hill and cable network NewsNation. A Spanish translation will be available, too. ...read more read less