SALT LAKE CITY — Inadvertently, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will help drive traffic to the first debate of the election season for Utah’s top candidates for governor, now set to take place in front of a crowd likely to number in the tens of thousands.

Just a day after Silicon Slopes unveiled news that Zuckerberg would headline the group’s annual summit next week, the tech advocacy organization announced Friday that it will also be hosting the first debate for Utah’s 2020 gubernatorial hopefuls.

The debate, which was winnowed to only candidates who have raised $50,000 or more for their campaigns, will take place at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Salt Palace Convention Center on the second and final day of the tech summit.

The hourlong debate will include candidates Jeff Burningham, Spencer Cox, Greg Hughes, Jon Huntsman Jr., Aimee Winder Newton and Thomas Wright.

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“We’re thrilled to host Utah’s first gubernatorial debate of the 2020 campaign cycle at Silicon Slopes Tech Summit,” said Silicon Slopes co-founder and executive director Clint Betts. “With every major candidate currently running on stage, we’re looking forward to a robust conversation on the future of Utah.”

Betts said some details of the square-off, including debate format and moderators, are still being determined, but further announcements will follow.

In 2018, Silicon Slopes drew about 15,000 to its summit, which ballooned to some 24,000 at the 20019 edition. Betts said the 2020 event is shaping up to exceed those numbers, and having Zuckerberg as a speaker is likely to drive attendance volume well past last year’s.

Hosting the debate kicks off a year in which Silicon Slopes appears set to help Utah’s wildly successful — and economically powerful — tech and innovation sector flex its collective political muscle in unprecedented ways.

The group combined forces with the Utah Technology Council last spring, and recently announced a rebranding of the council as the Silicon Slopes Commons. The new alignment combines Silicon Slopes’ mission as an education, community building and outreach organization with the tech-focused, public policy advocacy emphasis of the former council.

Earlier this week, Betts told the Deseret News that the effort has already rung up its first victory in officially combining what was formerly two related, but separate, tech-focused organizations.

“The first win for us with Utah Technology Council and Silicon Slopes under the same umbrella was uniting the community once and for all to speak with one unified voice,” Betts said. “Not only for the tech community but for the entire state of Utah.

“We wanted to look at this not just as another narrowly focused advocacy group, but let’s look at Utah and see how we can make a difference to the state as a whole.”

And while the massive economic footprint of Utah tech — which includes accounting for 1 in every 7 Utah jobs and generating some $30 billion of the state’s annual gross domestic product — was well accounted for in a deep-dive report assembled by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy institute last year, the high-technology and innovation industries sector has not, until now, had a path by which to focus its clout when it comes to public policy issues.

The differing tax structures of each entity — Silicon Slopes as a 501(c)(3) and Silicon Slopes Commons as a 501(c)(6) — defines what each nonprofit can and cannot do in the course of business. While Silicon Slopes is limited in its outreach to education efforts and some advocacy, the (c)(6) designation of the Commons allows for broader lobbying and direct involvement in advocating on behalf of public policy issues as a trade organization.

Betts said the groups are prioritizing their support of funding and implementation of a plan to put computer science education in every Utah public school by 2022 — an effort that Gov. Gary Herbert recognized in his recently released budget proposal with a $10 million funding request — but the list of critical issues goes much deeper.

“For us, it’s focusing on education, diversity and inclusion, transportation and workforce issues,” Betts said. “But the broader thing, and the thing that we see all four of these encompassing, is extending opportunity to all.”

While Silicon Slopes is ready to play a more forward role in shaping public policy that will guide the state’s future, the group will not be throwing its weight behind any of the current gubernatorial candidates, or any other Utah politicians for that matter.

“Currently we have no intention of getting involved in political campaigns,” Betts said. “No endorsements, no contributions. That’s just our rule. ... There’s so much else to do and solve.”

While only those who have purchased tickets can attend the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit events in person, the candidate debate will be live-streamed via siliconslopes.com.