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Primary Debates and Forums
REPUBLICANS |
[click images for
details] |
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Aug. 6, 2015 -
Cleveland, OH. |
Sept. 16, 2015 -
Simi Valley, CA. |
Oct.
28, 2015 -
Boulder, CO. |
Nov.
10, 2015 - Milwaukee, WI. |
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FOX News |
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Dec.
15, 2015 - Las Vegas, NV. |
Jan.
14, 2016 - No.
Charleston, SC. |
Jan. 28, 2016 - Des Moines, IA. | Feb. 6, 2016 - Manchester, NH. |
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Feb. 13, 2016 - Greenville, SC. | Feb, 25, 2016 - Houston, TX. | Mar. 3,
2016 - Detroit, MI. |
Mar. 10, 2016 - Miami, FL. |
Mar. 21,
2016 - Salt
Lake City, UT. |
DEMOCRATS |
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Oct. 13, 2015 -
Las Vegas, NV. |
Nov. 14, 2015 - Des
Moines, IA. |
Dec.
19, 2015 - Manchester, NH. |
Jan. 17, 2016 - Charleston, SC. |
|
Univision/ Washington Post |
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Feb. 4,
2016 - Durham, NH. |
Feb. 11,
2016 - Milwaukee, WI. |
Mar. 6,
2016 - Flint, MI. |
Mar. 9, 2016 - Miami, FL |
REPUBLICANS
Televised
Debates
Aug. 6, 2015 - FOX
News Channel/Facebook/Ohio Republican Party at Quicken Loans
Arena in Cleveland,
OH.
main: transcript: CST,
WaPo,
Time
|
video
undercard: transcript: CST,
WaPo
|
video
Sept. 16, 2015 - CNN
at Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA.
main: transcript (2)
|
video
undercard: transcript
| video
Oct. 28, 2015 - CNBC
at the University Of Colorado Boulder in Boulder, CO.
main: transcript
(2)
undercard: transcript
Nov. 10, 2015 - Fox
Business Network/The Wall Street Journal at Milwaukee
Theatre in Milwaukee, WI.
main:
transcript
(2)
|
video (2)
undercard: transcript
(2)
|
video
Dec. 15, 2015 - CNN/Facebook at The
Venetian Las Vegas
in Las Vegas, NV.
main:
transcript
|
video
undercard: transcript
| video,
2
Jan. 14, 2016 - FOX Business Network
at N. Charleston
Coliseum and Performing Arts Center in N. Charleston, SC.
main:
transcript: WaPo,
NYT
|
video
undercard:
WaPO
Jan. 28, 2016 - FOX
News Channel at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, IA.
main:
transcript: WaPo,
NYT
undercard:
transcript: WaPo,
NYT
Feb. 6, 2016 - ABC News
at St. Anselm College in
Manchester, NH.
transcript: WaPo,
NYT
Feb. 13, 2016 - CBS News at The
Peace Center in
Greenville, SC.
transcript: WaPo,
NYT
Feb. 25, 2016 - CNN/Telemundo/Salem Communications at the University of
Houston in Houston, TX.
transcript: WaPo,
NYT
Mar. 3, 2016 - FOX News
Channel at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, MI.
transcript: WaPo,
NYT
|
video
Mar. 10, 2016 - CNN/Salem Radio at the
University of
Miami in Miami, FL.
transcript
| video 1,
2
Mar. 21, 2016 - FOX News Channel at the Salt Palace Convention
Center in Salt Lake City, UT. +
Major
Events and
Forums include
Jan. 24, 2015
- Iowa
Freedom
Summit in Des Moines, IA.
Feb.
26-28, 2015 - CPAC at
National
Harbor, MD.
Mar. 7, 2015 - Iowa Ag Summit in Des Moines, IA.
April 10-12,
2015 - 144th
NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Nashville, TN.
April 17-18, 2015 - NHGOP #FITN Republican Leadership Summit at the Nashua Crowne Plaza in Nashua, NH. >
May 9, 2015 - South Carolina Freedom Summit at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC.
May 16, 2015 - RPI
Lincoln Dinner at Iowa Events Center - Community Choice Credit Union
Convention Center in Des Moines, IA.
May 21-23, 2015
- Southern
Republican Leadership Conference in
Oklahoma City, OK.
June 6, 2015 - Joni's 1st Annual Roast and Ride in Boone, IA. >
June 18-20, 2015 - Road to
Majority in Washington, DC.
June 18-20,
2015 - NE
Republican Leadership Conf. in Philadelphia, PA.
July 18, 2015 - The FAMiLY Leadership Summit in Ames, IA. >
Aug. 3, 2015 - Voters First Forum at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH.
Aug. 6-9, 2015 - RedState
Gathering
in
Atlanta,
GA.
Aug. 13-23, 2015 - Iowa State Fair in
Des Moines, IA.
Sept. 18, 2015 - Heritage Action Presidential Candidate Forum at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC.
Sept. 18-20,
2015 - Mackinac
Republican
Leadership
Conference
at
Mackinac
Island,
MI.
Sept.
25-27, 2015 - Values Voter
Summit in Washington, DC.
Oct. 31, 2015 - Republican
Party of Iowa's Growth and Opportunity Party at the Iowa State
Fairgrounds in Des Moines, IA.
Nov. 13-14, 2015 - Republican Party of
Florida's Sunshine Summit at in Orlando, FL.
Nov. 20, 2015 - The FAMiLY Leader Presidential Family Forum at
Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines, IA. >
Dec. 3, 2015 - Republican Jewish
Coalition Presidential Candidates
Forum at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in
Washington, DC.
Dec. 3, 2015 - Brown & Black Forum in Des Moines, IA.
Dec. 5, 2015 - Rising Tide Summit, hosted by FreedomWorks and U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, IA.>
2016
Jan. 22-23, 2016 - NHGOP #FITN
Presidential Town Hall at the Radisson Hotel in Nashua, NH.
Mar. 2-5, 2016 - CPAC at National Harbor, MD. >
DEMOCRATS
Televised
Debates
Oct. 13, 2015 - CNN-Facebook Democratic Presidential Primary
Debate at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV.
transcript
(2)
|
video
Nov. 14, 2015 - CBS
News/KCCI/The Des Moines Register at Drake
University in Des Moines, IA.
transcript
(2)
| video 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6
Dec. 19, 2015 - ABC News Democratic Debate
at St. Anselm College in Manchester,
NH.
Jan.
17, 2016 - NBC
News/YouTube/Congressional Black Caucus
Institute at the Galliard Center in Charleston, SC.
Feb.
4, 2016 - MSNBC Democratic Candidates Debate
at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH.
Feb. 11, 2016 - PBS at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee, WI.
Mar.
9, 2016 - Univision
News/Washington Post Democratic Debate at Miami-Dade College in
Miami, FL.
Major
Events and
Forums include
July
16-19,
2015
-
Netroots
Nation
in
Phoenix,
AZ.
July 17, 2015 - IDP's Annual Hall of Fame Dinner at the Cedar Rapids
Convention Center in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Aug. 13-23, 2015 - Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, IA.
Aug. 27-29, 2015 - DNC
Summer Meeting at the Hilton Minneapolis in Minneapolis, MN.
Sept. 19, 2015 - NHDP State Convention at Verizon Wireless
Arena in Manchester, NH.
Oct. 24, 2015 - IDP's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Hy-Vee Hall at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, IA.
2016
Jan. 11, 2016 - Brown
&
Black
Forum
in
Des
Moines,
IA.
Jan. 25, 2016 - CNN Iowa Democratic Candidates Town Hall at Drake
University in Des Moines, IA.
Feb. 3, 2016 - CNN/NHDP Democratic Town Hall at the Derry Opera
House in Derry, NH.
Feb. 5, 2016 - NHDP 2016 McIntyre Shaheen 100 Club
Celebration at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH.
Feb. 18, 2016 - MSNBC and Telemundo Democratic Town Hall in Las
Vegas, NV. >
PROPOSED EVENTS THAT DIDN'T
HAPPEN
Feb. 3, 2016 - NH1's
“The 2016
Live Free or Die Democratic
Presidential Forum” at the NH1 Media
Center
in Concord, NH.
Nov. 7, 2015 -
Candidate
forum at Union for Reform Judaism Biennial in Orlando, FL.
About
Primary Debates and Forums
Over the past four cycles, the first debates have been as early as
April 26 (2007) or as late as Oct. 22 (1999). This cycle, the
first Republican debate occurred on Aug. 6, 2015 in Cleveland, OH and
it was actually two debates: a main or "A-team" debate in prime-time
and a "B-team" or "kids table" debate for candidates not meeting the
requirements for the main debate. All told there are nine RNC
sanctioned debates planned between August 6, 2015 and February 2016 and
several more pending. The first Democratic debate occurred on
Oct. 13, 2015 in Las Vegas, NV. Only six
DNC sanctioned debates were planned, but a seventh was added between
the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
REPUBLICANS
The RNC was determined not to allow a repeat of what occurred
in
2011-12,
when
there
were
at
least
20
televised
forums
and
debates
(+), during
which the candidates "sliced and diced" each other.
At
its
Spring
Meeting
in
May
2014,
the
RNC
approved
a
rule
establishing a Standing
Committee on Presidential Primary Debates.1
Following its work, at the RNC Winter Meeting in
Jan. 2015 the party announced details of nine
sanctioned debates between Aug. 2015 and March 1, 2016 as well as three
for which details were pending (+).
Participation in the debates has been determined by the sponsoring news organizations, mostly using national polling numbers. The first seven Republican debates were split affairs, consisting of an undercard debate for candidates not meeting polling criteria, and a primetime main debate. Candidates relegated to the "kiddy table," "happy hour" or B-debates or excluded altogether were at a distinct disadvantage and complained heatedly about the use of polling numbers to determine participation. Undercard or excluded candidates suggested, for example, that a better, fairer alternative would have been to divide the candidates into two randomly assigned groups. For the fifth debate CNN finally did take into account the candidates' standing in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Polling is also used to determine the placement of the candidates on the stage (+). Donald Trump has been center stage for each of the debates except the Jan. 28 debate in Des Moines, which he skipped. Other candidates have been variously positioned according to polling numbers. After the first debate, Carly Fiorina was able to move up to the main stage debate, but it took some work by her supporters. By the sixth debate, however, she was relegated to the undercard debate. For the fourth debate, Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee were demoted to the undercard debate and Lindsey Graham and George Pataki bumped off the stage altogether. Christie returned to the main stage for the fifth debate.
The third debate, organized by CNBC in Boulder, resulted in
widespread
grumbling among Republicans about the moderators and prompted a
mini-revolt
of sorts. RNC chair
Reince Priebus announced the party would suspend work with NBC
News on a February debate
(+).
Many
of
the
candidates
themselves
were
unhappy
with
various
aspects
of
the
debates,
and
on
Nov.
1
representatives
of
most
of
them
met
in
the
Washington, DC area. Attorney Ben Ginsburg produced a draft
letter to be
sent to networks sponsoring debates. The letter included ten
specific demands: that the sponsors not "ask the candidates to raise
their hands to answer a question; ask yes/no questions without time to
provide a substantive answer; have a 'lightening round;' allow
candidate-to-candidate questioning; allow props or pledges by the
candidates; have reaction shots of members of the audience or
moderators during debates; show an empty podium after a break (describe
how far away the bathrooms are); use behind shots of the candidates
showing their notes; leave microphones on during breaks; allow member
of the audience to wear political messages (shirts, buttons, signs,
etc.) Who enforces?" However, the Washington Post reported on Nov. 2
that Donald Trump would not sign the letter; instead he and his
advisors would negotiate directly with the networks. The fourth
debate went off without major complaints and the whole episode
fizzled.
The five Republican debates held in 2015 include five of the six
most watched presidential primary debates in history.
Meanwhile, the RNC Standing Committee on Presidential Primary Debates decided to amend its handiwork; on Feb. 20 it announced an thirteenth debate for March 21 in Salt Lake City, and, if needed, a debate in April in New York City.
Scenes from several of the undercard or "happy hour debates"
DEMOCRATS
Meanwhile,
the
DNC
announced
(+) on
May 5,
2015 that it would sanction six debates starting in Fall 2015 "when
voters are truly beginning to pay attention." Further, the DNC
announced an exclusivity requirement wherein, "Any candidate or debate
sponsor wishing to participate in DNC debates, must agree to
participate exclusively in the DNC-sanctioned process." The first
DNC-sanctioned debate occurred on October 13 in Nevada. The
limited number and late start to the debates did not go over well
with quite a few activists (+).
Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) advocated for a larger number of
debates as well as inter-party debates (+), and
former
Gov.
Martin
O'Malley
(D-MD) pushed
back
forcefully
(+).
Eventually
a
several
additional
debates
were
added
to
the
schedule,
but
that
did
not
help
O'Malley
as
he
suspended
his
campaign
following
the
Iowa
caucuses.
The
first
head
to
head
matchup
between
Clinton
and Sanders took place
in New Hampshire on February 4, 2016.
MORE ON DEBATES
The formats of the
debates have tended to be fairly similar. Generally candidates
have one minute for responses and 30
seconds for follow ups and rebuttals. There have been other
formats. The FOX Business News Republican debate in Milwaukee had
90-second responses and one minute for follow ups and rebuttals.
In 2008 and 2004 NPR and Iowa Public Radio
organized audio
only
debates (+),
and
on
July
20,
2011
six
Republican
candidates
participated
in
TheTeaParty.net's
Twitter
Presidential
Debate
(+).
Individual debates rarely prove decisive, in the sense that one
candidate clearly outshines the others, but a series of strong
performances can boost a candidacy, while gaffes or sub-par
performances can undermine a hopeful's efforts. Gov.
Rick Perry's crippling performance in the Nov. 9, 2011 debate in
Michigan torpedoed his chances not only in that campaign, but very
likely in his 2015 campaign as well. Walter Shapiro,
then covering his ninth presidential campaign, observed in The New Republic that "most
campaign debates are like old-time Chinese food—they seem filling while
the TV cameras are rolling, but two hours later most of the gotcha
moments and zingers fade into irrelevance."2
OTHER FORUMS
In addition to debates, where candidates share the stage, there
are
also forums where candidates appear individually in succession.
This cycle, for example, the publishers of three early
state newspapers--the New Hampshire Union
Leader, the Charleston Post
& Courier and th Cedar Rapids Gazette organized a Voters
First
Forum (+)
for
the
Republican
candidates
on
Aug.
3,
2015
in
New
Hampshire
to
provide
voters
"an
opportunity
to
see
the
candidates
together
on
a
level
playing
field"
early
in
the
campaign.
There are numerous
"cattle shows" where some
or many candidates deliver a version of their stump speech to party,
ideological or interest groups. Events such as CPAC (Feb. 26-28,
2015)
provide early organizing tests. Many of these events occur in the
key early states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina; a few stand
out. For example, the Iowa Freedom Summit, held on Jan. 24, 2015
in Ames, drew about a dozen potential candidates, and proved to be a
breakout event for Gov. Scott Walker and gave a glimpse of things to
come for Carly Fiorina. In past cycles, one of the
biggest
event of the pre-primary period was the Republican Party of
Iowa Straw Poll. This had been scheduled for Aug. 8, 2015, but
the party voted to cancel it.
Notes:
1. The RNC also set up a committee the
last cycle, in March 2011 to make recommendations on primary debates (+);
on April 1,
2011 it
proposed a series of six sanctioned debates to be held from August
through February; those events were to be held in conjunction with
fundraisers to help the party retire its debt. Nothing came of
this).
2. Walter Shapiro. "Rick Perry's Ponzi Scheme Debate." The New Republic, Sept. 8,
2011. +
3. See also: Mark McKinnon. "Gone
Rogue:
Time
to
Reform
the
Presidential
Primary
Debates." Joan
Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy Discussion
Paper Series #D-67, Jan. 2012. [PDF]
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