1980 United States presidential debates


The 1980 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held for the presidential election. The League of Women Voters organized two presidential debates: the first on September 21, 1980, and the second on October 28, 1980. The second presidential debate is the second most-watched debate in American history.
The Republican nominee Ronald Reagan participated in both debates. Independent candidate John B. Anderson only participated in the first debate, while the Democratic nominee and incumbent President Jimmy Carter participated in the second debate.

Debate list

The first presidential debate started at 10:00 p.m. EDT and the second presidential debate started at 9:30 p.m. EDT. Both of them ended at 11:00 p.m. EDT.
There were no vice presidential debates.

First presidential debate (Baltimore Convention Center)

The three invitees were Jimmy Carter, John B. Anderson and Ronald Reagan. Carter refused to attend, believing that a three-way debate would have strengthened Anderson's campaign.
Following a strong performance by Reagan, Anderson's poll numbers began to drop; he would not be invited to the second debate.

Format

Anderson and Reagan both received six questions. They were given two and a half minutes to answer each question, as well as one minute and 15 seconds to rebut. Closing statements could be as long as three minutes.

Second presidential debate (Public Auditorium)

Carter and Reagan were the only invitees.
CNN attempted to include Anderson from the Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. CNN's Daniel Schorr read the same questions to Anderson. They then aired Anderson's live responses along with tape delay of Carter and Reagan's responses, despite technical difficulties.
Reagan's most notable moments include using the phrase "There you go again" and asking whether or not Americans were better off than they were four years ago.
In 1983, Reagan's team came under fire for having access to Carter's internal debate briefing materials.

Format

The second presidential debate consisted of two halves, and panelists were only allowed to offer follow-ups in the first half. Candidates Carter and Reagan both received the same 12 questions and the ability to rebut twice for one minute each.

Viewership

states that the second presidential debate garnered 80.6 million viewers. It was the most-watched debate in American history until the first presidential debate of 2016.