By Josh Bergeron 

josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com

Candidate forums for two of Rowan County’s 2016 primary elections will be Feb. 24 at Catawba College.

The Rowan County Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday announced candidate forums would be at Catawba’s Tom Smith Auditorium at 6 p.m. Included in the 2016 forum are the Rowan County commissioners race and N.C. House District 77 — the only one of Rowan’s seats in the state legislature that’s competitive.

In the Rowan County commissioners Republican Primary, incumbents Mike Caskey and Craig Pierce will face Johnny Love. Incumbent Rep. Harry Warren will face challenger Andrew Poston in the N.C. House District 77 Republican primary. Both races will be decided on March 15, when Rowan County voters cast ballots as part of the 2016 party primaries.

Rowan County Chamber of Commerce President Elaine Spalding said a forum for county commissioners would occur first. A forum for the N.C. House race would immediately follow, Spalding said.

The Feb. 24 candidate forums will be free and open to the public. Seating, however, is limited.

Rowan residents who are unable to attend can watch the forum on Channel 16 or listen on Memories WSAT1280 and WRNA1140/ WRKB1460. The forums will be rebroadcast on Channel 16 multiple times before the March 15 election.

Catawba Politics Professor and Provost Michael Bitzer will moderate both candidate forums. Questions for the candidates should be sent to the Salisbury Post at editor@salisburypost.com.

The forums are sponsored by the Salisbury Post, Catawba College, WSAT and the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber holds annual candidate forums for local races through the guidance of the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Terry Osborne.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.