Biden, Trump will cover SCOTUS, coronavirus, race and violence in first debate


Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing
September 29, 2020: Joe Biden and Donald Trump will debate for the first time in Cleveland on Tuesday night. Howie Hawkins completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey.


Presidential poll highlights, 2019-2020 (Suffolk University • Minnesota • September 20-24, 2020)
Presidential poll highlights, 2019-2020 (CBS News/YouGov • Georgia • September 22-25, 2020)
Presidential poll highlights, 2019-2020 (CBS News/YouGov • North Carolina • September 22-25, 2020)

Notable Quote of the Day

“With so much of the electorate already clear on whom they will support, I think the key thing to watch for is: ‘What will move undecided voters?’ I define that as people who are either soft Biden or Trump supporters, backing a third-party candidate or undecided. And those people aren’t likely to tune into a debate but will see whatever two to three moments get replayed on Facebook, shared on social media, etc.”

– Perry Bacon Jr., FiveThirtyEight senior writer​​​​​

Election Updates

  • Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic are hosting the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET. The debate will be 90 minutes long without commercial breaks. It will be divided into 15-minute segments on the following six topics selected by moderator and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace:
    • The Trump and Biden records
    • The Supreme Court
    • COVID-19
    • The economy
    • Race and violence in our cities
    • The integrity of the election
  • Howie Hawkins will protest the debate and the qualifying rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
  • Hawkins completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. Click here to read his responses.
  • Jo Jorgensen is hosting an event in Cleveland on Tuesday night, where she will answer questions submitted by the public.

Flashback: September 29, 2020

The editorial board of USA Today made its first presidential voting recommendation ever to oppose Donald Trump. It did not endorse Hillary Clinton.blank

Click here to learn more.