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 placeholder.  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 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 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. You can find the current Democratic debate odds further down the page.

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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. However, the Republicans do not currently have any party debates scheduled at this time.

For the 12th Democratic Debate, the DNC field is now down to two credible candidates: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. However, the Biden lead is so big that the final DNC debate may be obviated by either a Sanders dropout or simply by the fact that Biden will have reached — or nearly reached — the requisite 1991 delegates to win the nomination outright.

If the 12th DNC debate takes place, it will occur in April at time and place to be determined.

Presidential Debate Details – Next Democratic Debate 2020

When Is The Next Democratic Presidential Debate For 2020?

The next Democratic debate is tentatively scheduled for sometime in April, though it is up in the air whether or not it will actually go forward given Joe Biden’s massive lead on Bernie Sanders and the coronavirus spread currently consuming the country.

Where Will The Next Democratic Debate Be Held?

The next Democratic debate is scheduled for April, though the venue is TBA.

How Do Candidates Qualify For The Next Debate?

At this point, regardless of when the debate happens, only two candidates, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, will qualify. The race for the Democratic Presidential nomination is down to them.

Which Democratic Presidential Candidates Have Qualified For The Next Debate?

While Tulsi Gabbard technically remains in the race, she will not qualify for the 12th debate, no matter what. That debate, if it is even held, will feature Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

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

• TBA

Where Can I Watch The Next Democratic Presidential Debate?

The venue, time, place, and network coverage for the 12th Democratic debate are all currently TBA.

Other Democratic Debates in 2020

• N/A

Recap From The Last Democratic Debate

The 11th 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.

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 several requests from venues to host the remaining debates on the calendar, but the final April debate venue is yet to be announced.

• 12th Debate: TBA (April)

Republican Presidential Debates

There are currently 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 have dropped out as of February 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 debates will be held to pinpoint top-tier candidates for the party’s nomination.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has announced the 2020 debate criteria for candidates to qualify for the remaining debates.  The required criteria include receiving a certain number of individual donor contributions and meeting certain state and national polling thresholds. As of February, the DNC has dropped the donor requirement, presumably to make way for Mini Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire who is self-funding his campaign.

Debate Trivia – Did You Know?