A brief history of presidential candidate debates

Debates between presidential candidates have become an important part of the election process every four years, but in historical terms, these events are relatively new.

The first widely seen debates between presidential nominees were held in 1960 when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off on television four times. It took another 16 years for the practice to resume when Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford debated at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia.

Since then, nominated major party presidential candidates have debated on live television and other media formats every four years. This year, the second 2024 presidential debate, between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, on Sept. 10, 2024.

That event is widely expected to have a large national viewing audience. In a 2016 Pew Research Center survey, about 63 percent of prospective voters felt the presidential debates were helpful in deciding which candidate to vote for. The Center said those numbers were similar to past survey results about the impact of the debates on voter decisions.

The Era Before Presidential Debates

Political debates before the era of television did occur, and perhaps the most noteworthy was the series of public debates in 1858 between two future presidential candidates: Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

During the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois, the first speaker talked for one hour, followed by a 90-minute rebuttal from the second speaker, and a 30-minute closing statement from the first speaker. Some of the Lincoln-Douglas debates had more than 10,000 people in the audience, as the two men argued their positions.

In the 1920s, the advent of radio made political debates broadcast to the masses a real possibility, but the prospect was controversial. Congress passed the Communications Act of 1934; its Section 315 required that broadcasters who allowed political candidates to speak give an equal amount of speaking time to all of their legally qualified opponents, including minor-party candidates. The equal time rule inhibited debates with more than two candidates until 1976, with some exceptions. Congress could suspend the Section 315 requirement if asked by the candidates.

In 1940, Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie challenged his opponent, incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to several radio debates. Roosevelt declined the offers, citing scheduling conflicts or his need to concentrate on his presidential role as World War II unfolded. In 1948, Republican primary candidates Thomas Dewey and Harold Stassen took part in a radio debate during the Oregon primary. The Dewey-Stassen contest was limited to one question: Should the Communist Party be outlawed in the United States?

In 1956, Democratic contenders Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver debated on live television during the Florida primary. And during the general election, two proxies for Stevenson and President Dwight Eisenhower took part in a live edition of the television show “Face the Nation.” Eleanor Roosevelt advocated for Stevenson as president and Sen. Margaret Chase Smith argued the case of the Eisenhower campaign.

In 1960, Congress waived Section 315 to allow the first national broadcast debates between two major party nominees: John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon. The four televised debates became the templates for future presidential debates, and they showcased the power of television to influence elections.

The Kennedy-Nixon debates were watched live by as many as 70 million Americans. They also gave many potential voters their first chance to see actual presidential candidates in a live environment, as potential leaders.

In 1975, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that public debates that were broadcast in full, and not sponsored by the candidates or their supporters, were exempt from the equal time rule as on-the-spot news coverage. The FCC’s decision allowed for presidential debates that featured leading candidates as picked by the debate organizers, removing the logistical issues involved with many candidates on the debate floor.

The Modern Era of Presidential Debates

Under the new FCC rules, the League of Women Voters sponsored the presidential debates between 1976 and 1984. Incumbent President Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter agreed to three debates, and the vice presidential candidates also were scheduled for one debate. The only debate in 1980 between President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan drew 80 million live viewers, which was the most-viewed event during the League of Women Voters era.

In 1987, the two parties agreed to support a bipartisan non-profit, the Commission on Presidential Debates, to organize and run debates between the leading candidates for president and vice president. The commission was funded by independent donors and not by political parties.

In 1992, the commission include a third candidate, Ross Perot, in its sponsored debates after Perot’s strong performance in popular polling. However, in 1996, Perot and Dr. John Hagelin, the nominee of another third party, sued the commission when it excluded them from the general election debates after a rules change.

In Perot v. Federal Election Commission (1996), the U.S. District for the District of Columbia Appeals Court ruled against Perot and Hagelin. In a per curiam opinion, the three judges said the commission had the right to exclude other candidates it determined had no “realistic chance of winning” the 1996 election. It also upheld a lower court ruling that the commission was not a state actor and could not violate the candidates’ First Amendment rights.

During the commission’s era, the presidential debates were conducted with live audiences. In recent years, the first Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump debate in 2016 drew 84 million viewers and first Joe Biden-Trump 2020 debate had 73 million viewers, according to the commission.

In 2024, the leading candidates, Biden and Trump, decided to bypass the commission as the debate organizers and work with selected television networks. The commission announced in June 2024 that it was officially cancelling four debates it had scheduled.

On June 27, 2024, Biden and Trump debated in an event in Atlanta sponsored by CNN with 51.3 million viewers. After that debate, Biden announced on July 21, 2004 that he was not running for re-election. The first debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled for Sept. 10, 2024, at the National Constitution Center and is sponsored by ABC News. Also, the vice presidential candidates, JD Vance and Tim Walz, are scheduled to debate on CBS in New York City on Oct. 1, 2024. Other debates could be scheduled during the election cycle.

Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center.