GOP Senate candidates Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick will face off publicly for the first time Wednesday

For months, Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick have been blasting each other with tens of millions of dollars in television ads. Now, the two leading candidates for the GOP Senate nomination in Pennsylvania will be on stage together, in public, for the first time.

After much bobbing and weaving, Oz and McCormick will take part in a candidate forum Wednesday in Erie hosted by the Manufacturer & Business Association. They’ll be joined by Republican rivals Jeff Bartos and Kathy Barnette.

The 9 a.m. event will be carried on PCN and streamed on its website.

Here’s how to watch, and what we’ll be looking for:

Who: GOP Senate candidates Kathy Barnette, Jeff Bartos, Dave McCormick, and Mehmet Oz.

When: 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 30.

Where: Erie.

How to watch: The forum will be televised on PCN and streamed on its website.

» READ MORE: Pennsylvania Senate candidates: Who’s running?

Oz vs. McCormick: This has been the defining fight of the primary so far. Mostly they’ve used their money and TV ads to do the talking. McCormick and his allies have attacked Oz for his past comments, accusing him of being liberal on issues like abortion, guns, and gender identity. Oz and his supporters have pointed to McCormick’s past praise for China, his hedge fund’s investments there, and his support from some major Democratic donors.

Now we’ll see how the two men handle those criticisms face to face.

» READ MORE: Mehmet Oz knows TV. Now his GOP opponents are turning Pennsylvania’s airwaves against him.

A chance for Barnette and Bartos: The forum will also give two of their less well-funded opponents a chance to take aim at two ultra-wealthy candidates who only recently moved back to Pennsylvania (Oz in late 2020, McCormick this past winter).

It will be an important test for the two front-runners, neither of whom has ever sought public office and both of whom have been accused of trying to buy the election. Whoever wins the GOP nomination will have to show they can stand up to equally rough treatment from their Democratic opponent in the general election.

Bartos and Barnette can’t match Oz’s and McCormick’s spending, but they’re hoping that grassroots support and deeper ties to Pennsylvania can power them.

» READ MORE: The super PAC hammering Mehmet Oz as a RINO is getting money from longtime Democratic donors

What they would do: So far, much of the GOP primary has been defined by each candidate touting their personal backgrounds to make the case that they’d be the best conservative fighter against President Joe Biden and a Democratic Congress. But aside from blocking the president, what would they proactively try to accomplish while in office?

Who’s missing: GOP candidates Carla Sands, George Bochetto, and Sean Gale won’t be part of the forum.

Sands was invited but declined, according to organizers. Bochetto and Gale didn’t meet the criteria for an invitation, which includes raising at least $100,000 in donations and at least 5% support in a nonpartisan poll chosen by the Manufacturer & Business Association.

On Friday, GOP gubernatorial candidates Lou Barletta, Jake Corman, Joe Gale, Charlie Gerow, Melissa Hart, Doug Mastriano, Bill McSwain, David White, and Nche Zama are scheduled to take part in a forum at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference. Because of the number of candidates, they’ll be split into two events, one at 12:45 p.m. and one at 1:45.

The conference on Saturday will then host Republican Senate candidates Barnette, Bartos, Bochetto, Gale, Oz, and Sands at a forum at noon. Both forums will be on PCN and streamed via its website.

Democratic Senate candidates Conor Lamb and Malcolm Kenyatta will take part in their party’s first formal debate Sunday at 3 p.m. at Muhlenberg College. It’s unclear whether Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the front-runner in that primary, will attend. The debate will also be carried on TV and streaming by PCN.