COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) was established in 1987 to ensure, for the benefit of the American electorate, that general election debates between or among the leading candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States are a permanent part of the electoral process. CPD’s primary purpose is to sponsor and produce the quadrennial general election debates and to undertake research and educational activities relating to the debates. The organization, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) corporation, sponsored all the presidential debates in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016.

2012 Presidential Debates Venues

October 3, 2012 First Presidential Debate University of Denver, Denver, Colorado | Viewership: 67.2 million | Barack Obama (D), President and Mitt Romney (R), Former Massachusetts Governor

October 11, 2012 Vice Presidential Debate Centre College, Danville, Kentucky | Viewership: 51.4 million | Joe Biden (D), Vice President and Paul Ryan (R), Member, United States House of Representatives (WI)

October 16, 2012 Second Presidential Debate Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY | Viewership: 65.6 million | Barack Obama (D), President and Mitt Romney (R), Former Massachusetts Governor

October 22, 2012 Third Presidential Debate Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL | Viewership: 59.2 million | Barack Obama (D), President and Mitt Romney (R), Former Massachusetts Governor

(Data provided by Nielsen Media Research)