SALEM (AP) - Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a no-show at several recent debates, has agreed to face his challengers next month.

Kulongoski will debate Democrats Jim Hill of Salem and Pete Sorensen of Eugene on April 6 and April 10, a few weeks before ballots are mailed for the May primary.

The three leading Republican gubernatorial candidates - Kevin Mannix, Ron Saxton and State Sen. Jason Atkinson - will not take part in the debates, nor will independent Ben Westlund.

The Democrats will first meet at the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 290 union hall in Tualatin for a debate hosted by the state Democratic Party. Thom Hartmann, a radio host, has agreed to moderate.

On April 10, Hill, Kulongoski and Sorensen will meet at KGW-TV, which will broadcast the debate live to a statewide audience. Anchorwoman Tracy Barry will moderate.

During a debate at Willamette University last week, the six other major candidates criticized Kulongoski for not participating. That complaint was echoed Friday at the City Club of Portland, where Hill and Sorensen took the stage.

Kulongoski recently failed to win key endorsements from the Oregon Education Association and the Service Employees International Union. But Political analyst Jim Moore, a political science professor at Pacific University, said Kulongoski's decision to enter two debates may not be related to his losing those endorsements.

The April events are closer to the election, “when voters are paying attention,” Moore said.

And the KGW debate will be “the most widely seen debate in the entire process,” Moore said, since it will be broadcast on KGW and cablecast on Northwest Cable News.

“He gets a lot of bang for his buck,” Moore said.