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2024 U.S. presidential election | |
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The 2024 United States presidential debates are a series of scheduled debates between major candidates of the 2024 United States presidential election. Two general election debates sponsored by CNN and ABC are scheduled to be held on June 27 and September 10, 2024. Both major parties' presumptive nominees, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, have confirmed their attendance.
Four general election debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) were scheduled to be held between September 16 and October 9, 2024. On May 15, the Biden campaign proposed holding two debates outside of the CPD schedule and declined to appear at CPD-hosted debates. Biden and Trump agreed to participate in two debates, one hosted by CNN in June and another hosted by ABC News in September. [1]
In April 2022, the Republican National Committee voted unanimously to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates; committee chair Ronna McDaniel called the organization "biased" and stated that they would find "newer, better debate platforms" for future Republican nominees. [2] This announcement came after years of tension between the organizations, including a threat made earlier in the year by the RNC to change its rules to prohibit nominees from participating in CPD debates. In response, the commission stated that "[its] plans for 2024 will be based on fairness, neutrality and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues." [3]
Former president Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, did not attend any primary debates, deeming them unnecessary and detrimental to his campaign. [4] He has previously accused the CPD of unfair treatment in the 2016 and 2020 debates, and the likelihood of Trump attending the debates has been brought into question. Despite this, Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier in a June 2023 interview that he is interested in debating incumbent president Joe Biden should he become the Democratic nominee. At that time, Biden had not committed to attending the debate either, as his campaign was also in conflict with the commission for failing to enforce its rules against Trump, [5] though in April 2024 he confirmed he plans to debate Trump. [6]
Biden and Trump became the presumptive nominees of their respective parties in March 2024, [7] [8] setting up the first presidential rematch since 1956. [9] On April 14, 2024, a number of major news organizations signed an open letter to the nominees urging them to attend the debates, arguing for its "rich tradition in our American democracy" and that the "exceptionally high" stakes require debates to be held. Signatories include ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News, and Fox News, among others. [10]
If either major party nominee chooses not to attend a general election debate, it would be the first since 2020, when president Trump refused to attend the second debate with Biden because it would have been virtual rather than in person following Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis. [11] It previously occurred in 1980, when president Jimmy Carter refused to attend the first debate with Ronald Reagan due to the presence of independent candidate John B. Anderson. Should both refuse it would be the first presidential election since 1972 without any general election debate. [12] Additionally, if independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. improved his current polling results, he would have been the first third party candidate since Ross Perot in 1992 to qualify for the debates. [13]
Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump has confirmed his intention to cooperate with the Commission on Presidential Debates repeatedly and vocally challenged Biden to debate "Anywhere, anytime, anyplace." [14]
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the schedule for its four debates on November 20, 2023. All debates would have started at 9 p.m. ET and would have run for 90 minutes uninterrupted. [15] The Biden campaign announced on May 15 that it would not participate in the presidential debates hosted by the CPD and proposed alternative debates that would be hosted by CNN and ABC, which Trump agreed to. [16]
On May 7, 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued an open letter challenging former President Trump to debate him at the Libertarian National Convention, where both are already scheduled to speak from May 24–25, citing Trump's frequent and vocal claims that he would be willing to debate anywhere and Kennedy's own competitive polling with both major candidates. Trump has not yet responded to this challenge. [17]
On May 15, 2024, Biden's campaign invited Trump to participate in two debates to take place in June and September, each hosted in a TV news studio without an audience, bypassing the CPD's schedule. [18] Jen O'Malley Dillon, the Biden campaign manager, laid out three reasons for sidelining the CPD, indicating that the debates weren't completed until early voting started, that the debates had become "a spectacle" and that the CPD could not "enforce its own rules". [19] Biden and Trump accepted an offer from CNN to hold the first of these debates on June 27 and from ABC to hold the second on September 10. [1]
Trump indicated the same day that he had accepted a Fox News debate to be hosted on October 2, 2024, though the Biden campaign dismissed the prospect of a third debate. [20] Kennedy accused the two candidates of "colluding" to exclude him from televised debates "because they are afraid I would win"; both CNN and ABC had decided on eligibility criteria that were similar to those that had been used by the CPD, with Kennedy not appearing on a sufficient number of state ballots at that time. [21]
A vice presidential debate in July was initially proposed, which would take place after the selection of a vice presidential candidate at the 2024 Republican National Convention. [22] The Biden campaign has agreed to a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News to take place on either July 23 or August 13. [23]
In order to qualify for the CPD-sponsored debates, presidential candidates would have needed to meet the following criteria: (vice presidential candidates would have qualified by being the running mate of a qualifying presidential candidate) [15]
2024 United States presidential election debates | |||||||||||||||
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No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderators | Participants | ||||||||||
Key: P Participant. I Invitee. A Absent. | Democratic | Republican | |||||||||||||
President Joe Biden of Delaware | Former President Donald Trump of Florida | ||||||||||||||
1 | June 27, 2024 9:00 p.m. EDT [22] | CNN | Atlanta, Georgia | Jake Tapper Dana Bash [24] | I | I | |||||||||
2 | September 10, 2024 [1] | ABC News | TBD | David Muir Linsey Davis [25] | I | I | |||||||||
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT [15] | Cancelled | Cancelled | |||||||||||||
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT [15] | Cancelled | Cancelled | |||||||||||||
9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT [15] | Cancelled | Cancelled | |||||||||||||
2024 United States vice-presidential election debate | |||||||||||||||
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No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | ||||||||||
Key: P Participant. I Invitee. A Absent. | Democratic | Republican | |||||||||||||
Vice President Kamala Harris of California | TBD | ||||||||||||||
1 | September 25, 2024 9:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. EDT [15] | Lafayette College | Easton, Pennsylvania | TBD | Cancelled | Cancelled |
Presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | June 27, 2024 |
Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
Participants | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
Moderator(s) | Jake Tapper and Dana Bash of CNN |
The first debate will be held on Thursday, June 27, 2024, starting at 9:00 p.m. EDT in Atlanta, Georgia.
In order to qualify for the June 27 CNN debate, presidential candidates have to meet the following criteria: [26]
Qualified candidates for the first debate | |||
Candidate | Met polling criterion [27] | Met EV Criteria | Met both criteria/ invited |
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Biden | Yes 11 qualifying polls | Yes 538 EVs certified [lower-alpha 1] | Yes |
Trump | Yes 11 qualifying polls | Yes 538 EVs certified [lower-alpha 2] | Yes |
Kennedy Jr. | Pending 2 qualifying polls | Pending 129 EVs certified 94 awaiting certification | Pending |
Stein | Pending 0 qualifying polls | Pending 257 EVs certified [lower-alpha 3] | Pending |
West | Pending 0 qualifying polls | Pending 33 EVs certified 6 awaiting certification | Pending |
Presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | September 10, 2024 |
Participants | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
Moderator(s) | David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News |
The second debate will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
During presidential election campaigns in the United States, it has become customary for the candidates to engage in one or more debates. The topics discussed in the debate are often the most controversial issues of the time, and arguably elections have been nearly decided by these debates. Candidate debates are not constitutionally mandated, but they are now considered an intrinsic part of the election process. The debates are targeted mainly at undecided voters; those who tend not to be partial to any political ideology or party.
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is a nonprofit corporation established in 1987 under the joint sponsorship of the Democratic and Republican political parties in the United States. The CPD sponsors and produces debates for U.S. presidential and vice-presidential candidates and undertakes research and educational activities relating to the debates. Between 1988 and 2020, the CPD organized all general election presidential debates.
The United States presidential debates of 2008 were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan organization that sponsored four debates that occurred at various locations around the United States in September and October 2008. Three of the debates involved the presidential nominees, and one involved the vice-presidential nominees.
The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) held four debates for the 2012 U.S. presidential general election, slated for various locations around the United States in October 2012 – three of them involving the major party presidential nominees; those being Democratic President Barack Obama from Illinois and Republican Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, and one involving the vice-presidential nominees, those being Vice President Joe Biden from Delaware and Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
The United States presidential election debates were held during the 2000 presidential election. Three debates were held between Republican candidate, Texas Governor George W. Bush and Democratic incumbent Vice President Al Gore, the major candidates. One debate was held with their vice presidential running mates, Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman. All four debates were sponsored by the non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which has organized presidential debates since its establishment in 1987.
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president, Donald Trump, and vice president, Mike Pence. The election took place against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic and related recession. The election saw the highest voter turnout by percentage since 1900, with each of the two main tickets receiving more than 74 million votes, surpassing Barack Obama's record of 69.5 million votes from 2008. Biden received more than 81 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a candidate in a U.S. presidential election.
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 United States presidential election. The elections took place in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and through Democrats Abroad, and occurred between February 3 and August 11.
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place in many U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories from February 3 to August 11, 2020, to elect most of the 2,550 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention. Delegates to the national convention in other states were elected by the respective state party organizations. The delegates to the national convention voted on the first ballot to select Donald Trump as the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, and selected Mike Pence as the vice-presidential nominee.
The 2024 United States presidential election will be the 60th quadrennial presidential election, set to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Voters will elect a president and vice president for a term of four years. Incumbent President Joe Biden, a member of the Democratic Party, is running for re-election. His predecessor Donald Trump, a member of the Republican Party, is running for re-election for a second, non-consecutive term, after losing to him in 2020. The election notably comes after Trump's prior attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the January 6 United States Capitol attack. This will mark the first presidential election rematch since 1956.
The 2020 United States presidential debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the major candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election, were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. There were three initially planned scheduled debates. The first debate took place on September 29, 2020. The next debate was scheduled to take place on October 15 but was later canceled due to Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis and refusal to appear remotely rather than in person. As a result, 2020 had the fewest debates since 1996. The final debate took place on October 22. Additionally, a debate between the vice presidential candidates Mike Pence and Kamala Harris took place on October 7.
This is a timeline of major events leading up to, during, and after the 2024 United States presidential election. This will be the first presidential election to be run with population data from the 2020 census. In addition to the dates mandated by the relevant federal laws such as those in the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act, several milestones have consistently been observed since the adoption of the conclusions of the 1971 McGovern–Fraser Commission.
Presidential primaries and caucuses are being held to select delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2024 United States presidential election. The Republican primaries and caucuses have taken place or will take place in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between January and June 2024. The 2024 Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in July at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Presidential primaries and caucuses are being organized by the Democratic Party to select the delegates to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2024 United States presidential election. The elections will take place in most U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad, and will be held between January and June that year. Incumbent President Joe Biden is running for re-election with Vice President Kamala Harris returning as his running mate. On March 12, Biden secured enough delegates for re-nomination and was declared the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party.
The following is a timeline of major events leading up and during the 2020 United States presidential election, the 59th quadrennial United States presidential election, from January to October 2020. For previous events, see Timeline of the 2020 United States presidential election (2017–2019). For subsequent events, see Timeline of the 2020 United States presidential election
The 2024 United States presidential election in Arizona is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Arizona voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Arizona has 11 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state neither gained nor lost a seat. Arizona is considered to be a crucial swing state in 2024.
The 2024 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Pennsylvania voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state lost a seat.
The 2024 United States presidential election in Texas is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Texas voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Texas has 40 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state gained two seats.
The 2024 United States presidential election in Utah is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Utah voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Utah has six electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state neither gained nor lost a seat.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his campaign for the 2024 United States presidential election on April 19, 2023. An environmental lawyer, writer, and member of the Kennedy family, he is known for advocating anti-vaccine misinformation and public health conspiracy theories. He initially ran for the Democratic Party nomination, but announced on October 9, 2023, that he would run as an independent candidate.
Several debates and forums have taken place among candidates in the campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for president in the 2024 United States presidential election. The Democratic National Committee has expressed full support for incumbent president Joe Biden and has no plans to host any official primary debates. As such, the debates held are instead sponsored by private organizations, and are only being held among Biden's primary challengers.