# 1976 United States presidential debates

The 1976 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 1976 presidential election.
The League of Women Voters organized four debates among the major party candidates, sponsored three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate. Three presidential debates were held between Republican nominee Gerald Ford and Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter. One vice presidential debate was held between their respective vice presidential running mates, Bob Dole and Walter Mondale. In each of the debates, the candidates received questions in turn with three minutes to answer and a 60-second rebuttal.

## Participant selection

In 1976 only the two candidates from the major political parties, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, were invited. As a result, only Bob Dole and Walter Mondale met the criteria for the vice presidential debate.

## Debate schedule

1976 United States presidential election debates :
| No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants |
| Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Republican | Democratic |
| Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | President Gerald Ford of Michigan | Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia |
| 1 | Thursday, September 23, 1976 9:30 – 11:00 p.m. EDT | Walnut Street Theater | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Edwin Newman of NBC | P | P |
| 2 | Wednesday, October 6, 1976 9:30 – 11:00 p.m. EDT | Palace of Fine Arts | San Francisco, California | Pauline Frederick of NPR | P | P |
| 3 | Friday, October 22, 1976 9:30 – 11:00 p.m. EDT | College of William & Mary | Williamsburg, Virginia | Barbara Walters of ABC | P | P |
| 1976 United States vice presidential debate ||||||||||||||||
| No. | Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants | Participants |
| Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Republican | Democratic |
| Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Key: P Participant | Senator Bob Dole of Kansas | Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota |
| VP | Friday, October 15, 1976 9:30 – 10:45 p.m. EDT | Alley Theatre | Houston, Texas | James Hoge of Chicago Sun-Times | P | P |
Three presidential debates were scheduled by the League of Women Voters:
* September 23 at the Walnut Street Theater, with questions from moderator Edwin Newman of NBC;
* October 6 at the Palace of Fine Arts, with questions from moderator Pauline Frederick of NPR;
* October 22 at the College of William & Mary, with questions from moderator Barbara Walters of ABC;
One vice-presidential debate was held:
* October 15 at the Alley Theatre, moderated by James Hoge of Chicago Sun Times.

## September 23: First presidential debate (Walnut Street Theater)

The first presidential debate between President Gerald Ford and former Governor Jimmy Carter took place on Thursday, September 23, 1976, in the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The debate was moderated by Edwin Newman of NBC moderated the debate with a panel consisting of Elizabeth Drew, Frank Reynolds and James Gannon posed the questions to each candidate.
This was the first presidential debate in 16 years. Eighty-one minutes into the broadcast of the 90 minute debate, the sound was lost and the debate was paused for 27 minutes before the problem was fixed and the debate could resume.

### Transcript

* from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.

### Viewership

An estimated 69.7 million viewers tuned into the debates.

## October 6: Second presidential debate (Palace of Fine Arts)

The second presidential debate between President Gerald Ford and former Governor Jimmy Carter took place on Wednesday, October 6, 1976, at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California.
The debate was moderated by Pauline Frederick of NPR, who posed the questions for each candidate. The debate is infamous for President Ford's gaffe, "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration."

### Video

* from PBS NewsHour via YouTube.

### Transcript

* from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.

### Viewership

An estimated 63.9 million viewers tuned into the debate.

## October 15: Vice presidential debate (Alley Theatre)

The only vice presidential debate between Senator Bob Dole and Senator Walter Mondale took place on Friday, October 15, 1976, in the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. It was the first vice presidential debate in American history.
James Hoge of Chicago Sun-Times posed the questions for each candidate.

### Viewership

An estimated 43.2 million viewers tuned into the debate.

## October 22: Third presidential debate (College of William & Mary)

The third and final presidential debate between President Gerald Ford and former Governor Jimmy Carter took place on Friday, October 22, 1976, in the Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The debate was moderated by Barbara Walters of ABC, who posed the questions for each candidate.

### Transcript

* from the Commission on Presidential Debates website.

### Viewership

An estimated 62.7 million viewers tuned into the debates.