UPDATED, 9:20 AM: Two debates between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump were announced this morning about an hour apart. The first is slated for June 27 on CNN, and the second will be hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10.
Media-wise, the 2024 presidential election crosses the official starting line with debate season, and this cycle the contenders on the Republican side, including a multiple-indicted former POTUS, looked to beat Democrat Joe Biden and take over the White House.
In the end, as expected, Biden and former President Donald Trump cruised to victory in their respective primary campaigns, each clinching March 12. Biden was all but unchallenged, and Trump dominated a field that whittled to zero after former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley ended her campaign following Super Tuesday.
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Trump opted out of all the GOP debates but despite his sundry legal woes remained out of reach in all polling and in all primaries (the exception: Haley won Vermont on Super Tuesday), picking off a field that at at its peak included Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Only Haley and DeSantis made it to what ended up being the last GOP primary debate, on January 10 ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
Biden, meanwhile, was briefly challenged when Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips threw their hats in the ring, as did Marianne Williamson, Cenk Uygur and Jason Palmer. Kennedy shifted out in October to run as an independent; Phillips ended his campaign in early March.
Below is the official schedule of dates, times, locations set aside for the general election debates, which will come after the Republican National Convention in July and the Democratic National Convention in August.
The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates sets the schedule, which includes three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate, all starting at 9 ET and to last 90 minutes commercial-free.
See the schedule below and check back for updates.
General Election Debates
Monday, September 16, 2024
City (Venue): San Marcos, TX (Texas State University)
Networks: TBA
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: TBA
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
City (Venue): Petersburg, VA (Virginia State University)
Networks: TBA
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: TBA
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
City (Venue): Salt Lake City (University of Utah)
Networks: TBA
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: TBA
Vice Presidential
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
City (Venue): Easton, PA (Lafayette College)
Networks: TBA
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: TBA
Republican Primary Debates
Sunday, January 21
City (Venue): Henniker, NH (New England College)
Network: CNN
Note: This debate was canceled because neither Nikki Haley or Donald Trump would commit to appear.
Thursday, January 18
City (Venue): Manchester, NH (Saint Anselm College)
Network: ABC, WMUR-TV
Note: This debate was canceled because neither Nikki Haley or Donald Trump would commit to appear.
Wednesday, January 10
City (Venue): Des Moines, IA (Drake University)
Network: CNN
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: Jake Tapper, Dana Bash
Participants: Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Wednesday, December 6
City (Venue): Tuscaloosa, AL (University of Alabama)
Networks: NewsNation, The CW (Eastern and Central time zones), Rumble, SiriusXM
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Moderators: Megyn Kelly, Elizabeth Vargas, Eliana Johnson
Participants: Former Gov. Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Wednesday, November 8
City (Venue): Miami (Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County)
Networks: NBC News, Rumble, Universo, Peacock
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Moderators: NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, Salem Radio Network’s Hugh Hewitt
Participants: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (R-DC)
Wednesday, September 27
City (Venue): Simi Valley, CA (Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum)
Networks: Fox Business, Univision (simulcast on Fox News/Fox Nation)
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: Fox News Media’s Stuart Varney and Dana Perino, Univision’s Ilia Calderón
Participants: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
Wednesday, August 23
City (Venue): Milwaukee, WI (Fiserv Arena)
Networks: Fox News, Rumble
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum
Participants: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, former pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
Democratic Primary Debates
None scheduled.