Historically, political debate has been a key part of the American electoral process. For example, the Lincoln-Douglas debates were a crucial component of the campaign to abolish slavery in 1858. The tradition continued in the 1960s with the Kennedy-Nixon debates, which became a major milestone and a hallmark of a presidential election.
Since then, debate has become a fixture of the political landscape and an American institution. It is also a popular format for corporate events, including conferences and meetings between company executives.
The goal of the CPD is to provide a public forum for candidates for federal, state and local offices to sharpen their views on a range of issues, in a structured and focused debate format. The CPD selects sites and dates for the debates well in advance of the election cycle, ensuring that the public will have ample opportunities to view and listen to the debates. The CPD also carefully considers early voting, religious and federal holidays, and White House television pool contractual conflicts (similar to Major League Baseball) when selecting debate dates.
The current political climate makes the debates even more important for voters to gain a better understanding of who the candidates are and what they stand for. In addition, some of the candidates have already established a solid base of familiarity with voters through their prior track record or extensive event schedules. Others, like Harris this year, have come into the race relatively late and may be less well-known to voters in terms of specific priorities and policy positions.