Betting On Presidential Debates For The 2020 Election

With the growing momentum of political betting, it is only natural that betting odds and lines have become popular for big events in the political cycle, including Presidential debates. There will be odds and prop bets available for the Democratic Presidential debates, the Republican Presidential debates (if any take place), and the official 2020 Presidential debates.

We intend to cover any and all odds and betting lines that emerge for these debates. And let’s be honest, to get through the heaviness of any political season, prop bets (and SNL skits!) are a lifesaver.

Keep in mind that the Vegas odds on Presidential debates will come and go throughout the debate schedule, so there may not be odds or lines published here each time that you visit.  When no odds or betting lines are available once things get underway – you will see a TBA place holder.  This means you should check back closer to the next debate when the oddsmakers are more likely to give us some fresh information.

Presidential Debate Odds And Prop Bets

Most of the betting lines for Presidential debates will come in the form of prop bets.  Also called proposition bets, these types of odds and betting lines will cover everything from what candidates will wear to specific phrases they will say.  You’ll see lines for how long they will get to talk, what they will talk about, and certain behaviors they may exhibit.

While prop best are more closely associated with sports events such as the Super Bowl, they have become more mainstream in the political betting arena as well.  A little further down on this page, you will find a list of current prop bets for specific debates.

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Presidential Debates For The 2020 Election

Presidential debates are typically broken down into individual party debates such as the Democratic Presidential Debates and Republican Presidential Debates. Then, after each party selects their nominee, the official Presidential debates can commence.

Presidential Debate Details – Fifth Democratic Debate 2019

When Is The Sixth Democratic Presidential Debate For 2019?

The debate will be held on December 19th, 2019, and hosted by PBS Newshour and POLITICO.

Where Will The Sixth Democratic Debate Be Held?

The fifth Democratic debate will take place at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

How Do Candidates Qualify For The Sixth Debate?

To qualify for the sixth DNC debate, candidates must meet specific criteria. In order to be invited to the stage for the December 19th event, each Democratic hopeful must fulfill the following requirements:

• Must gain at least 4% support in four national/early-state polls or 6% in two early-state polls.
• Must receive contributions from at least 200,000 individual donors.

Which Democratic Presidential Candidates Have Qualified For The Sixth Debate?

There are a total of six Democratic Presidential hopefuls have already qualified for the December debate:

• Joe Biden
• Elizabeth Warren
• Bernie Sanders
• Pete Buttigieg
• Amy Klobuchar
• Andrew Yang

Who Will Be The Moderators For The Sixth Democratic Presidential Debate?

• Judy Woodruff, Amna Nawaz and Yamiche Alcindor from PBS NewsHour
• Tim Alberta from Politico

Where Can I Watch The Sixth Democratic Presidential Debate?

The sixth Democratic Presidential debate will be held on December 19, 2019, and air live on PBS. The event is expected to run from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm EST, with coverage starting at 8:00 pm.

You can also live stream the sixth debate at the PBS Newshour website, and at POLITICO’s social and digital platforms.

Recap From The First, Second, Third, And Fourth Democratic Debates Of 2019

The first Democratic debate of the 2020 election cycle was held on June 26 and 27 in Miami, Florida between the party’s top 20 qualifying candidates. Split into groups of ten each, the pairing of Sen. Kamala Harris and former Vice President Joe Biden stole the show.

Harris challenged Biden on his support of former US Senators that opposed desegregation of school busing. She provided an emotional anecdote, describing that she was one of the students impacted by California’s slow integration action. For a short time, this catapulted Harris into the party’s odds-on favorite.

The second debate, hosted by Detroit, Michigan between July 30-31, had the same format but fewer fireworks. However, there were a few surprises following the end of the debate. Not only did Biden return as the favorite, but entrepreneur Andrew Yang broke the top 5, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard broke the top 7, and author Marianne Williamson became the most searched candidate on Google.

During the third debate (September 12), candidates turned up the heat on President Trump and mocked his administration. Candidates also debated key ongoing issues including health care, gun violence, and immigration. The one-night event gathered 14 million viewers on television and streaming services combined.

The fourth debate (October 15) was all about Presidential impeachment, with Tulsi Gabbard again stealing the show and Andrew Yang making his case as the only real forward-thinker among the group. Despite these two candidates dominating Google searches during and after the show, mainstream politician Joe Biden’s odds also improved, and Elizabeth Warren remained the front-runner for the DNC nomination.

Prop Bets For the 8th Democratic Debate

Below you will find the current prop bets available for the sixth Democratic debate taking place on December 19, 2019.

• TBA

Who Will Host The Democratic Presidential Debates?

The DNC announced there would be a total of 12 debates leading up to 2020: six debates in 2019, and six debates in 2020 (from February through April). The Commission on Presidential Debates has received requests from the following locations to host upcoming debates:

• Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee
• The City of Hartford, Connecticut
• Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska
• The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• The University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana
• Utah Debate Commission and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah

Republican Presidential Debates

There are currently four Republican candidates running for the nomination in 2020, including incumbent President Donald Trump, former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld, former radio host and congressman Joe Walsh, and former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford. While most expect the Republican party to hold debates, the RNC nixed the Convention’s debate committee as it does not plan to sanction any Republican primary debates for 2020.

Some have speculated that this serves as a warning to Republican contenders and would-be challengers to prevent the President’s polls from sinking. Co-Chair of the RNC’s subcommittee governing the Primary Process, John Hammond, says that “times are different from a lot of perspectives [from when the committee adopted its debate rules. Which will be less relevant] as we continue to support the President and the vice president and the current administration.”

Several Republicans have expressed their desire to take Trump on in a debate, such as Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and Ohio Governor John Kasich. However, it is not unusual for the incumbent’s party to avoid primary debates in preparation for the re-election campaign.

How Does Someone Win A Presidential Debate?

There is no clear-cut result to debates. Instead, the person who wins a Presidential debate is all about public perception. Sometimes Democratic Presidential debate winners can be “chosen” by the candidates themselves, news commentators, the media, and news outlets which discuss the results of the debate. What individuals or outlets choose to discuss and frame can shape public opinion, and the opinion of voters, which ultimately decides who was the debate winner.

In today’s modern age, many people rely on polls to tell them the winner(s) of events like the Democratic Presidential debates. This is because polls keep track and report what a sample of people believe and think. Usually, whenever a debate concludes, polling companies contact registered voters and ask them what they thought of the debates, which is generally influenced by what others have told them. Through this, polls can be released within hours as voters express their thoughts through snap polls online which provide immediate reporting results. Another way to gauge a Presidential debate winner, of course, is to check out how their betting odds move after the debate in question concludes.

About Presidential Debates

Formally known as the leaders’ debate, a Presidential debate is typically a public debate held during general elections. In a Presidential debate, party candidates express their running policies along with political opinions while opposing candidates attempt to poke holes in or criticize these policies. Presidential debates are usually broadcast live via TV, radio, and online steaming services.

Presidential debates are not required by the US Constitution but are considered popular with voters. These debates often give voters a better understanding of the candidates, their positions, trustworthiness, and competence, and they can help undecided voters align themselves with a specific candidate rather than to a specific party or position.

How Are Presidential Debates Formatted?

Debates can vary in format, but typically opening statements are made by each candidate with a panel of moderators or journalists asking a set of questions. Candidates will typically have a chance to answer these questions either one after another or, if the question is aimed at one specific candidate, then he or she will answer the inquiry. Following each candidate’s answer, the other candidates may have a chance to respond briefly to each candidate’s statement.

Following this, the debate may lead into a free-for-all which the moderators will attempt to control through an allotted time slot and follow-up questions. The conclusion of the debate will be signaled by a final question along with each candidate’s closing remarks.

Debate variations also exist. Some debates allow audience members to ask questions, sometimes a coin toss determines candidate speaking order, and sometimes candidates will stand at podiums while other times they’ll be seated at tables. You can even expect a few jokes and lighthearted non sequiturs to be presented from time to time.

Modern debates have used a kind of “traffic light” to signal when a candidate’s speaking time is nearing the end. Buzzers or flags have also been used in the past to regulate the time frame of a candidate’s answer.

How Do Candidates Qualify for A Debate?

Typically to qualify for a Presidential debate, candidates must receive their party’s nomination pick. However, 2020’s election has seen a large pool of Democratic candidates running, and thus several Democratic Presidential debates will be held to pinpoint top-tier candidates for the party’s nomination.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has announced adjusted debate qualifying criteria for 2020 Presidential candidates, such as registering a certain polling percentage in major polls (national, public, major news organization, and qualifying university polls) and receiving a certain number of small-dollar donations with a minimum number of unique grassroots donations from at least 20 states. These criteria get more and more strict for each successive debate to help narrow the field.

Debate Trivia – Did You Know?