Republican gubernatorial candidates David Williams and Phil Moffett, as well as independent Gatewood Galbraith, will participate in a gubernatorial candidate forum Friday in Louisville, sponsored by the Kentucky Press Association.

The forum will be moderated by Al Cross.

Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, declined an invitation to participate.

The KPA confirmed Wednesday that Beshear was still not participating in the debate.

“He’ll be busy being governor and we think there will be plenty of time post-primary for these kinds of things,” Beshear’s campaign told KPA Executive Director David Thompson, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader last week.

Williams, the current state Senate president, and his running mate, Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer, filed official paperwork Tuesday to run for the Republican nomination for governor.

Williams believes tax reform is long overdue for Kentucky.

“We arrived at the current system after years of patchwork incentives, special-interest maneuvering and a lack of political courage in Frankfort to make the wholesale changes necessary for our state to advance,” Williams said in a statement on his website.

Galbraith was recently endorsed by musician and longtime friend Willie Nelson.

“We crossed Kentucky in a car that ran on hemp fuel one time when he ran for governor,” Nelson said in a statement released by Galbraith’s campaign. “He is a good man and will do a good job.”

Moffett and running mate Mike Harmon are looking to ride the tea party’s national wave of momentum to defeat Williams and unseat Beshear.

“Politicians like Williams and Beshear who raise our taxes and run up debt we can’t afford are not being truthful with us when they act like they have done us a favor,” Moffett said on his website.

The 2011 race is already getting national attention.

Last week, the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza named the Kentucky governor race the top race in 2011, saying May’s Republican primary will be another test of how strong the tea party remains in its ongoing battle with the Republican establishment.

The public can watch the forum live via online video stream through www.courier-

journal.com/livenews. The event begins at 8 a.m. CST.