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Candidate Forums Sponsored by LWV of Sarasota County


The League of Women Voters of Sarasota County holds public forums for local municipal candidates and local state candidates. During these forums, candidates are asked a variety of questions that are of interest to the constituency. All candidates are asked the same questions and asked to speak for themselves with no rebuttal.


Recordings of the forums can be viewed on LWVSRQ's YouTube channel. 

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Candidate Forums


History of LWV Candidate Forum Sponsorship


JFK Nixon TV debate 1960

This televised debate between John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Richard Nixon (the 2nd of four) took place in Washington D.C. at NBC's WRC-70 studios on October 7, 1960.

The first major presidential debates took place in the 1960 election between John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Richard Nixon. A 16-year period followed in which there were no public presidential debates, until the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF) sponsored three presidential debates in 1976.


The League continued to sponsor the presidential and vice presidential debates every four years through the 1984 elections. Following that election cycle, the Democratic and Republican national parties came together in a decision to move sponsorship of the debates under the purview of the political parties.


Between 1985 and 1987, the League challenged this move and sparked widespread public debate on the matter. The LWVEF argued that a change in sponsorship, which put control of the debate format in the hands of the two dominant parties, would deprive voters of one of the only chances they have to see the candidates outside of their controlled campaign environment.


In 1987, the parties announced the creation of the Commission on Presidential Debates. The Commission chose LWVEF to sponsor the last presidential debate of 1988, but placed so many rules and restrictions on the potential format of the debate that the LWVEF decided not to participate.


email@lwvsrq.org
League of Women Voters of Sarasota County
PO Box 18884
Sarasota, Florida 34276-1884