Ted Cruz and Beto O 'Rourke debate tonight at 6 pm Central. look here

US Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke are expected to make their debut Friday night in Dallas.

At 6 pm The event at Southern Methodist University is the first of three hour-long debates, and this is happening as polls continue to show a close race between Cruz and O'Rourke, a congressman from El Paso .

The Dallas debate is presented by SMU, NBC 5 / KXAS and The Dallas Morning News. It will be broadcast live on NBC 5 / KXAS, its website and the Dallas Morning News website. The Texas Tribune will feature the flow of debate on this page.

The subject of the debate is domestic politics and it will be moderated by NBC political reporter Julie Fine and political writer Dallas Morning News Gromer Jeffers. Both candidates will be on the podium in front of an audience of 240 people.

The next two debates are scheduled for September 30 in Houston and October 16 in San Antonio. Early voting begins on October 22nd.

It was only a week ago that O'Rourke and Cruz announced an agreement to hold three debates, limiting the weeks of negotiations between their campaigns.

O'Rourke was the first to challenge Cruz in six debates in May, and while Cruz maintained his opening to debate his opponent, he did not respond officially until July. It was at this point that Cruz proposed five thematic debates over three months in five cities.

Among O'Rourke's problems with Cruz's proposed debating program, there was one who fell on a Friday night during the high school football season. This will remain true for the Dallas debate, while the two other debates they finally agreed on are set for different days.

Disclosure: Southern Methodist University has been financially supported by the Texas Tribune, a non-profit, non-partisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in Tribune journalism. Find a complete list of them here.