Alex Trebek will be the moderator for the Pennsylvania governor debate in October. The question is, will the "Jeopardy!" host will make the candidates answer in the form of a question?
Trebek, 77, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Canada, will appear at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry annual dinner on Oct. 1 at Dauphin County's Hershey Lounge, where the debate will take place, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He also will be the dinner's keynote speaker.
Gov. Tom Wolf, the Democratic incumbent, has been invited to take part in the debate and the winner of the Republican primary will receive an invitation. Currently, attorney Laura Ellsworth, businessman Paul Mango, and state Sen. Scott Wagner are competing for the nomination, per the Inquirer.
It wasn’t clear if Libertarian Party candidate Ken Krawchuk will be invited.
Politically, Trebek told Salon in 2014 that he described himself as an independent.
"I consider myself a social liberal and a fiscal conservative," Trebek said. "I believe that climate change exists, and is contributed to by human activity. I have seen firsthand the effects of climate change, in trips to Antarctica and Mt. Kilimanjaro, both of which are showing huge changes due to global warming.”
"I'm in favor of equal pay for women, and the Lilly Ledbetter act. I believe in equal rights for the LGBT community; in fact, this winter, I braved the Minnesota winter weather to attend a gay wedding (which was officiated over by my wife)."
In a 2012 interview with Politico, Trebek said he believed "People [are] relying too much on the government," and that any new tax money should be used to decrease the debt and not on new programs.
In a glimpse of what kind of moderator he will be in October, Trebek told The Hill in 2013 if he had a chance to moderate a presidential debate, he would be tough on the candidates' answers.
"Unlike some of the other moderators — I'm not going to disparage them — but I have a different approach," he said. "I would not let the politicians get away with standard responses. I would try to pin them down, even though I might look bad doing it."
Trebek holds the Guinness Book of World Records award for "Most game show episodes hosted by the same presenter," with more than 7,500 under his belt during his 34-year career.
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