WHAT’S GOING ON: Wofford College to Host November Presidential Debate
CBS News and National Journal will present the first Republican Presidential Primary debate on broadcast television on Saturday, November 12. David Rhodes, President, CBS News, and Ron Fournier, editor-in-chief of National Journal, announced the debate, which will focus primarily on national security and will be held in conjunction with the South Carolina State Republican Party. Scott Pelley, anchor and managing editor of the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY, and Major Garrett, congressional correspondent for National Journal, will moderate the debate, which will be hosted by Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The 90-minute debate will begin at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT. The first hour will be broadcast live (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/5:00-6:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network. Additional portions will be broadcast on FACE THE NATION, CBSNews.com, NationalJournal.com and will be available to CBS affiliate television and radio stations.
“The first debate of the campaign on broadcast television will be on CBS,” said Rhodes. “Scott Pelley and all of us at CBS News look forward to a spirited discussion of the issues with all of the Republican candidates in Spartanburg next month.”
“This debate will examine the critical questions of America’s role in the world, now and in the future,” said Fournier. “National Journal is proud to build on our 2012 election partnership with CBS News to give voters a thorough understanding of how each of the Republican candidates would take on these issues.”
“The South Carolina Republican Party is excited to be a partner on the first nationally televised, broadcast network debate of the Presidential Primary season,” said Chad Connelly, Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party. “Presidential candidates and Republican activists across our nation know South Carolina’s historic tradition of successfully choosing the Republican nominee, a tradition uninterrupted for over thirty years. We look forward to the November 12 debate on Wofford College’s beautiful campus and continuing to demonstrate that in South Carolina, ‘We Pick Presidents.’”
“In politics, everyone aims to be a winner, so, given our tradition of athletic success, Wofford College is an encouraging location for a presidential candidates’ debate. And given our national leadership among foreign study programs, we’re a logical place in which to hold discussions on the subject of national security,” said Dr. Benjamin B. Dunlap, President of Wofford College. “Most significantly, it’s our institutional dedication to ‘the unfettered pursuit of knowledge’ that makes us such an appropriate host as we welcome the candidates to our beautiful and historic campus.”
During the Republican debates that have been held to date, the candidates have sought to define themselves against each other and President Barack Obama. The CBS News/National Journal debate will reveal the candidates’ views on wide-ranging foreign affairs topics, such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the changes throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and the global war on terror.
10/27 UPDATE: SC GOP Chair Chad Connelly told us this morning that since announcing the November 12 presidential debate yesterday, the state party has received over 900 individual ticket requests in addition to more than 2700 tickets ordered. “We will announce a halt in ticket requests today and are only going to add to the pre- and post-debate reception numbers at this point,” Connelly said. The information for the Wofford debate and the form to request tickets can be found at www.scgop.com/debate until ticket requests are no longer being processed. Only “Silver Elephant” members will be guaranteed at that point.
