Former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle is scheduled to participate in a bipartisan political forum in New Orleans this week. 

The Republican, who is running to succeed Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka in the U.S. Senate, is appearing at the Bipartisan Policy Center meeting along with political strategists and commentators James Carville and Mary Matalin. 

More than a dozen current and former elected officials, strategists and journalists are expected to attend the gathering which begins Wednesday. 

Participants are due to discuss finding common ground for political progress and finding consensus on immigration issues. 

Lingle is a founding member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Governors Council.