Texas State University won't host presidential debate after all

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — The presidential candidates will not go head-to-head in a debate at Texas State University ahead of the November general election, according to an announcement released Monday afternoon.

The Commission on Presidential Debates shared none of the four universities selected to serve as possible debate locations will actually host one now. The commission confirmed it released Texas State, Lafayette College, Virginia State University and the University of Utah from their contracts.

The debate at Texas State University would have been the first presidential debate ever in Texas.

The commission's co-chairs, Antonia Hernández and Frank Fahrenkopf, said in a news release that they reached this decision after the Biden campaign "will not agree to debate under the sponsorship of the Commission during the 2024 general election campaign."

"We are grateful to the sites, and we are sorry to come to this decision," Hernández and Fahrenkopf said. "We are dismayed that students of the four campuses will not have the opportunity to participate in these historic voter education forums.”

The commission told Texas State on Monday afternoon that its planned debates were canceled, the university said in a statement.

The university said it "paused planning and expenditures" for the debate "once the presumptive presidential candidates announced an alternative plan for debates several weeks ago."

While receiving this official news is disappointing, we understand the CPD’s position. As the only Texas university to have graduated a U.S. president, we were excited to host the first-ever presidential debate in our great state. We are also proud to be the only Hispanic Serving Institution chosen to host a presidential debate. In the words of our alumnus President Lyndon B. Johnson, ‘Let no one ever think for a moment that national debate means national division.’ We remain steadfast in supporting our students and the entire university community as they continue to learn about democracy, to engage in civil discourse, and to participate in the electoral process throughout the upcoming election cycle.

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse

The university would have hosted the first debate on Sept. 16 if the candidates agreed to the commission's conditions.

The Biden-Harris campaign sent a letter to the commission in May. It listed several reasons it did not agree with the commission's conditions, including that the commission scheduled the debates after early voting for some Americans would begin.

Still, the commission said, if circumstances change, it would be ready to sponsor 2034 debates.

"I was just disappointed," said Averyann Guggenheim, president of the College Democrats at Texas State University. "I thought it was a great opportunity for students."

Guggenheim said she was excited when Texas State University was chosen for the debate instead of other colleges in Texas.

"I thought it was a great opportunity, especially for the freshmen, to get more politically involved," Guggenheim added.

She said she hopes that Texas State students still watch the debates which will not be hosted by news organizations instead of universities.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are gearing up Thursday for their first general election debate, which will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

"At the end of the day, this election is not going away," Guggenheim said. "Voting is very important, and politics is very important."