The race for California’s 21st Congressional District will come to Fresno State on Saturday morning as incumbent David Valadao and challenger Amanda Renteria have their first public debate on campus.

Presented by Univision Fresno and Univision Bakersfield, the debate will be entirely in Spanish — an important factor for a district with one of the highest proportions of Spanish-speaking residents in the country.

“This really is an opportunity to have a conversation with a larger audience than you would if just in English,” Renteria said. “I think that’s incredibly important here in the 21st district.”

“We’re excited about the fact we’re able to communicate with those in our district that speak primarily Spanish,” said Tal Eslick, Valadao’s chief of staff.

The debate will take place in the North Gym at 11 a.m. and will be by invitation only. Angela Navarrette, station manager of Univision communications, said Univision chose to have the venue at the university because of the “great relationship” it has with Fresno State.

The debate will then be aired on KFTV Univision 21 in Fresno and KABE Univision 39 in Bakersfield on Oct. 11, and on Fresno radio stations KOND 92.1 FM, KRDA 107.5 and KLLE 107.9 on Oct. 12.

It will also be available to stream at UnivisionFresno.com after its broadcast.

The candidates, Valadao (R) and Renteria (D), are running for the 21st congressional district that comprises Kings County, western Fresno County, southwestern Tulare County and northwestern Kern County. The election is on Nov. 4.

Navarrete said the Spanish-speaking debate is an opportunity to inform the Hispanic population of the district and is part of a larger national campaign for the media outlet to encourage all Hispanics to vote.

“We think if we give them information, they’re going to find the motivation to actually vote,” Navarrete said. “Many people can actually register to vote, and they’re not doing it.

“So part of our national campaign is to invite them, to explain how easy it is and to answer any questions they might have and bringing the candidates and the issues to their attention.”

Saturday is the first of four public debates between the candidates and serves as an opportunity for both campaigns to voice their positions on key issues affecting the Central Valley such as the drought and unemployment.

“We found that the issues that are facing the Central Valley and that are really in the front of people’s minds are water, jobs, high speed rail and immigration,” Eslick said. “On those four issues, Congressman Valadao is very proud of his record.”

Eslick said the Valadao campaign knows little as to where Renteria stands on such issues and looks forward to the debate being informative in that aspect.

“At this point, we’re about as in the dark as the rest of the district as to her position on those issues,” he said.

Renteria said the No. 1 goal from the debate is to explain the differences between herself and Valadao.

Highlighting their differing visions about the likes of Medicare, creating jobs and education issues is important for people to know, Renteria said.

One such difference is the drought.

“My concern has been, his process really hasn’t brought a single drop of water here,” she said. “I look forward to talking about what it takes to bring people together to solve these big problems.”

The primary election, held June 3, showed Valadao with 63 percent of the vote and Renteria with 25.6 percent. As the top two vote earners, they moved onto the general election. Another Democratic, John Hernandez, earned 11.5 percent of the vote.

Renteria said while the public debates are important in voicing their messages to the people, the campaign will be won by being involved within all towns in the district.

“At the end of the day, this is about connecting with people at their doors, at their home and in their communities,” Renteria said.

Eslick said Valadao, who has been a congressman for the last two years, was feeling good about their campaign.

“We’re not taking anything for granted, and we’re going to look to get support from every single voter in the 21st Congressional District, regardless of party or anything else,” Eslick said.