TRENTON -- Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the Republican nominee in this year's race to succeed Chris Christie as New Jersey's governor, has canceled a scheduled appearance next week at a town hall on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Ricky Diaz, a spokesman for Guadagno's campaign, said via email that scheduling issues forced the candidate to drop out of the event, which was slated for Sept. 28 at Rutgers' Eagleton Institute of Politics.

"We apologize for any inconvenience, but the demands on the schedule are only getting heavier the closer we get to Election Day," Diaz wrote to the event's coordinators. "We appreciate the invite as well as your time in planning this event. Again, we extend our sincerest apologies."

Diaz did not respond to phone calls or emails to elaborate what Guadagno would be doing that night.

NJ.com, along with the Eagleton Center on the American Governor, were co-sponsoring the free event. It would have live-streamed on NJ.com's Facebook Live page.

It was to have been moderated by Tom Moran, the editorial page editor of The Star-Ledger. Moran and an NJ Advance Media reporter were to interview the candidate, using some questions taken from the audience.

Democratic nominee Phil Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, will still appear at a similar town hall, scheduled for Sept. 27 at Eagleton. That will be live-streamed on NJ.com's Facebook page.

Both events reached maximum capacity less than a week after they were announced on Sept. 8. Some 170 people registered for Guadagno's event.

"We're disappointed that Lt. Gov. Guadagno can't participate and hope that her schedule will open up to enable her to visit Eagleton," said John Weingart, director of the Center on the American Governor. "We look forward to the session with Ambassador Murphy on Sept. 27."

Negotiations for Guadagno to appear at this month's town hall began a few days after she won the primary election in June. Her campaign accepted the invitation for the event on July 28.

Diaz had accepted the invitation on behalf of Guadagno, pending Murphy's confirmation to attend.

"I would like to do it, if he also agrees," Diaz wrote in an email.

Prior to the primary election on June 6, Guadagno had accepted NJ.com's invitation to a town hall similar in format, also at Eagleton, for mid-May. She later withdrew after learning Murphy declined to attend. NJ.com stopped production of that event, instead focusing on the possibility of a forum for the general election.

Guadagno is trailing Murphy by double digits in all polls.

The two will still face off in a pair of televised debates, on Oct. 10 and Oct. 18.

NJ.com is also working on live Q&As with the third-party and independent gubernatorial candidates for mid-October.

Besides Murphy and Guadagno, there are five other contenders in the race: Libertarian nominee Peter Rohrman, Green Party nominee Seth Kaper-Dale, and independents Gina Genovese, Matthew Riccardi, and Vincent Ross.

The Nov. 7 election determines who succeeds Christie, the term-limited Republican who will leave office Jan. 16.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.