Presidential Debate Betting For The 2024 Election

With the growing momentum of political wagering, it is only natural that betting odds and lines have become popular for each big event during the election cycle, including Presidential debates. There are almost always odds and prop bets available for the Democratic Presidential debates, the Republican Presidential debates, and the official 2024 Presidential debates.

We 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 as the schedule progresses, so there may not be odds or lines published here each time that you visit.  When no odds or betting lines are available just yet on a Biden debate, you will see a TBA placeholder.  This means you should check back closer to the next debate when the oddsmakers are more likely to give us some fresh information.

2020 Presidential Debate Betting Odds Recap

Presidential Debate Prop Bets

Most of the betting lines for Presidential debates come in the form of political 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 bets are more closely associated with sports events such as the Super Bowl, they have become more mainstream in the political betting arena as well.

Trusted Sportsbooks Offering Betting Lines For US Presidential Debates

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2024 Debate Schedule

During the Presidential campaign cycle, there are typically three standard debates on the docket. The 2020 debates were rocked by COVID-19 which caused re-scheduling and for additional governance of the proceedings, however, all three debates still occurred. The time, date, and location of the 2024 Presidential Debates will not be set until much later on in the election process. Below is the 2020 debate schedule for reference.

2020 Presidential Debates Schedule

• September 29, 2020 – Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio
• October 15, 2020 – Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Miami, Florida
• October 22, 2020 – Belmont University Nashville, Tennessee

Next Presidential Debate Details 2024

When Is The Next Presidential Debate For 2020?

The next Presidential debate is expected to occur during the months of September or October of 2024 and will feature the DNC and GOP nominee facing off against each other on live, national television.

Where Will The 2024 Presidential Debates Be Held?

TBA

How Do Candidates Qualify For The Next Debate?

Democrat and Republican candidates that receive the nomination of their respective parties will earn an automatic invite to the debate stage. At this point, regardless of when the debates happen, only two candidates are likely to qualify. There is a chance that an independent candidate like Kanye West (Birthday Party) or from the Libertarian Party can sneak onto the stage and make an impact, but historically, that has yet to happen.

Which Presidential Candidates Have Qualified For The Next Debate?

There will be no qualifiers for the next debate until the Democratic and Republican Party have selected their 2024 Presidential nominees. It can be reasonably assumed that Joe Biden would participate since he is the sitting President, but there have been whispers that Vice President Kamala Harris could become the nominee if called upon by her Party.

Who Will Be The Moderators For The Next Presidential Debates?

• TBA

Where Can I Watch The Next Presidential Debate?

The debates are aired on several national and cable television outlets, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CSPAN, and several more networks. The debates can also be seen on free streaming services such as YouTube.

Is There A Vice President Debate?

Yes, The VP nominees for each Party will debate around the same timeframe as the Presidential debates. The time and date for the 2024 Vice Presidential Debates will be announced in the late summer of 2024.

Is A Sitting President Required To Debate?

No. There is nothing in the Constitution that requires a sitting President, or anyone else, to participate in a Presidential debate. Refraining from entering into a debate is generally seen as bad form in a political arena. A politician should always be eager to share their campaign message and exhibit confidence in their abilities and agendas. To pull out of a debate would be a sign of weakness to voters and could cost a candidate the election.

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 streaming 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 to 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 saw a large pool of Democratic candidates running, and thus several Democratic debates were held to pinpoint top-tier candidates for the party’s nomination.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) set the 2020 debate criteria for candidates to qualify for the primary debates.  The required criteria included receiving a certain number of individual donor contributions and meeting certain state and national polling thresholds. In February, the DNC dropped the donor requirement, presumably to make way for Mini Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire who tried self-funding his campaign before flaming out just a month after wasting over $600 million on the effort.

Recap From The Last Democratic Debate

The 11th and final Democratic debate was supposed to be held in Phoenix, AZ, at the Arizona Federal Theatre. However, due to the coronavirus, the venue was changed to CNN’s Washington DC studio, and there was no live audience. Additionally, Jorge Ramos, one of the scheduled moderators, was in self-quarantine after coming into contact with a coronavirus patient.

Nevertheless, the debate went ahead as otherwise scheduled, and even though Bernie Sanders agreed to Joe Biden’s request that the candidates be seated on stage, both men stood for the duration of the event. The debate was hosted by CNN, Univision, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Talking time broke down almost identically for both candidates, who did plenty of speaking on the coronavirus and other stump issues. Those issues were discussed as follows:

• Coronavirus – 17:45
• Climate change – 11:51
• Economy – 11:01
• Immigration – 8:28
• Healthcare – 8:08
• Foreign policy – 7:59
• President Trump – 4:08
• Women’s rights – 3:47
• China – 2:18
• Elections – 1:55
• College costs – 1:53
• Income inequality – 1:23
• Social Security – 0:58
• Gun control – 0:56
• Black voters – 0:31
• Latino voters – 0:29
• LGBTQ rights – 0:13
• Trade – 0:00
• National security – 0:00
• Politics – 0:00
• Socialism – 0:00

Most of the debate was finger-pointing at Trump over his alleged “mishandling” of the US coronavirus response, with fact-checkers dinging Biden for lying that Trump refused COVID-19 tests from the World Health Organization.

However, neither candidate offered any idea of how they would have approached the US response to the disease any differently than the current administration. Still, coronavirus is Trump’s current Achilles heel, and Biden and Sanders were not shy about piling on.

Note: A 12th Democratic debate was originally planned, but due to Joe Biden receiving more than the number of necessary delegates before that event – and because of COVID-19 restrictions and concerns – the debate was canceled.

2020 Republican Presidential Debates Recap

There were really only two Republican candidates running for the nomination in 2020: incumbent President Donald Trump and former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld. Mark Sanford and Joe Walsh ran campaigns earlier in the cycle, but both dropped out early on in the proceedings.

Some have speculated that this served 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, said 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 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, and there were no Republican primary debates in 2020.

Debate Trivia – Did You Know?