Presidential debates may not happen in 2024. Here’s how we can save this valuable tradition

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the forthcoming slate of debate sites for presidential election season 2024. Since 1976, there have been consistent televised presidential debates in the United States. Originally broadcasted and conducted by the League of Women Voters, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) took over the sponsorship and organization of the debates in 1987. The impending election raises the most serious doubts about whether this televised debate series will continue. 

Both the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) have refused to commit to the proposed debates of 2024 that are to begin in San Marcos, Texas, next October. Serious problems in the last several CPD events may prevent the necessary parties from agreeing to debates that are typically viewed by 50 to 100 million Americans. 

One of the most serious problems faced by the CPD events is the moderators. Journalist moderators have been chosen for these debates for decades. The problems with moderators are two-fold. First, journalists have come to occupy a prominent argumentative position in the debates. In the 1990s, journalist moderators would occupy roughly 5 percent of the speaking time in debates. In the most recent series, moderator Chris Wallace consumed more than 25 percent of the speaking time. 

There are no established limits for moderator monologues about politics to which candidates are expected to respond. Secondly, journalist moderators indicate a pattern of favoritism toward the Democratic nominee. At times, the reactionary behaviors of moderators have allowed Democratic candidates to receive more speaking time, as they did in most debates prior to 2016 or resulted in the removal of moderators who actively coordinated hostile questions for the Republican candidate. Currently, the RNC requires that its ultimate nominee for 2024 refuse to cooperate with or attend the CPD events in 2024.  

It is important to make plans for solutions and even alternatives to the CPD proposal. One of the best solutions for future debates would be to remove journalist moderators to create a more authentic debate event that features the candidates rather than an iterative press conference constrained by the narratives set by the American journalistic community. Non-journalist moderators could simply identify topics with single words — abortion, inflation, immigration, Gaza, government spending — and allow the extra time be given to candidates to explain their views.

Remember that in 1960, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy had eight-minute opening remarks to make their case to the public. Typically response times today are two minutes or less, while journalist vigorously criticize such limited presentations as “lacking context.” 

It is increasingly likely that journalist moderators will take more time crafting the question for a candidate than the candidate will have while answering. Cross examination conducted by debaters rather than moderators is a common staple of many American debate formats used by high school and college students. Utilizing this debate practice in presidential debates would allow candidates to ask, in a limited time period such as three minutes, questions of their opponent.

The venues for these debates could be vastly improved from the current slate of college campuses. The first 2024 debate — which is typically the most watched debate — is to take place at Texas State University. It will be the first such debate in Texas in the history of this series. Texas State is where Democratic President Lyndon Baines Johnson graduated and as recent news reports indicate, Democrats were successful in 2022 in flipping key local voting precincts from red to blue. The activism of San Marcos and the university reverse a trend common to most of South Texas since 2020 where Hispanic voters are voting in increasing numbers for Republicans. 

Instead of the highly partisan campuses, debates could be conducted at more than a dozen presidential sites maintained throughout the U.S. Those debates could blend Democratic and Republican president locations such as LBJ and Reagan to create a stronger bipartisan impression.  

There are many more things that could be done to restore the credibility and improve the quality of presidential debates. These are important steps that need to be considered and probably acted upon if this important civic tradition is to continue in 2024. The CPD needs help to overcome its past miscues in carrying out the presidential debates.  

Ben Voth, Ph.D., is professor of rhetoric and director of debate and speech at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He is editor of the American Forensics Association’s flagship journal for debate and speech coaches- Argumentation and Advocacy. He is also co-editor of the Lexington Book series focusing upon Political Communication. He is author of several academic books and book chapters about debate.