1996 United States presidential debates

The 1996 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 1996 presidential election.

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan organization formed in 1987, organized three debates among the major party candidates, sponsored two presidential debates and one vice presidential debate. Only Democratic nominee Bill Clinton and Republican nominee Bob Dole met the criteria for inclusion in the debates, and thus were the only two to appear in the debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The CPD-sponsored vice presidential debate took place between their respective vice presidential running mates, Al Gore and Jack Kemp.

Debate schedule

Participant selection

In 1996, the following six candidates achieved ballot access in enough states to mathematically win the election via the Electoral College:

Unlike in 1992, Ross Perot was excluded from the debates in the 1996 campaign. Paul Kirk, co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates stated that "Our decision was made on the basis that only President Clinton and Senator Dole have a realistic chance, as set forth in our criteria, to be elected the next president of the United States."

Only Dole and Clinton met the CPD selection criteria for any of the presidential debates. As a result, only their running mates Jack Kemp and Al Gore met the criteria for the vice presidential debate.

1996 was originally to have three presidential debates, with the first scheduled for Wednesday, September 25 at Washington University in St. Louis. However, Clinton's campaign objected to the date, noting it was one day after he was set to address the United Nations, and argued that it left him without sufficient time to prepare.

October 6: First presidential debate (The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts)

The first presidential debate between President Bill Clinton and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole took place on Sunday, October 6, 1996, in the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut

The debate was moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS' The NewsHour, who posed the questions for each candidate.

Transcript

Debate transcript from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.

Viewership

An estimated 46.1 million viewers tuned into the debates.

October 9: Vice presidential debate (Mahaffey Theater)

The only vice presidential debate between Vice President Al Gore and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp took place on Wednesday, October 9, 1996, in the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The debate was moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS' The NewsHour, who posed the questions for each candidate.

Transcript

Debate transcript from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.

Viewership

An estimated 26.6 million viewers tuned into the debate.

October 16: Second presidential debate (University of San Diego)

The second and final presidential debate between President Bill Clinton and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole took place on Wednesday, October 16, 1996, at the Shiley Theater on the campus of University of San Diego in San Diego, California.

The town hall style debate was moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS' The NewsHour with featuring the questions asked by members of the audience.

Transcript

Debate transcript from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.

Viewership

An estimated 36.3 million viewers tuned into the debate.

Third-party debates

October 7, 1996 - C-SPAN sponsored a third-party presidential debate moderated by Jennifer Laszlo. In attendance for this debate were Libertarian candidate Harry Browne, Constitution Party candidate Howard Phillips, and Natural Law Party candidate John Hagelin. Ross Perot declined the invitation to attend.
October 23, 1996 - C-SPAN sponsored a third-party presidential debate moderated by Bill Shen. In attendance for this debate were Libertarian candidate Harry Browne, Constitution Party candidate Howard Phillips, and Natural Law Party candidate John Hagelin. Ross Perot declined the invitation to attend.