Bush and Kerry Tentatively Agree on Debate Dates
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The campaigns of President Bush and Senator Kerry tentatively have agreed to a series of three debates that both sides hope will give them momentum in the closing weeks of the presidential election campaign, a person familiar with the debate negotiations said last night.
The agreement, not yet final, calls for the presidential debates to be spread over a two-week period beginning September 30. It was not clear when any agreement would be announced. The Bush campaign denied there was a deal. But a person familiar with the debate negotiations said there was a tentative deal for three debates but that some details were still being worked out. The tentative agreement also calls for one vice presidential debate on October 5.
The source said the campaigns have agreed on the dates and sites proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates: September 30 at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.; October 8 at Washington University in St. Louis, and October 13 at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz.