CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia is making a bid for the so-called “Super Bowl of politics.”
For the first time, an application from the Mountain State to host a presidential or vice presidential debate has been submitted to the Commission on Presidential Debates.
As proposed, West Virginia University and West Virginia State University, the state’s two land-grant institutions, would co-sponsor a debate next year at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences in Charleston.
“Living here in Charleston, I would watch these debates, most recently Lynn University from Florida or the University of Denver in Colorado or Centre College in a small town, Danville, Kentucky, and I said — why not West Virginia?” said Mike Stuart, a former state Republican Party chair and current chair of the West Virginia Commission on Presidential Debates.
For more than six months, Stuart and others with the Steptoe & Johnson law firm have worked on the debate application with WVU and WVSU along with representatives from the City of Charleston, the Clay Center and members of Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s Administration, including Gov. Tomblin, state Adjutant General James Hoyer, Homeland Security Director Jimmy Gianato and Tourism Commissioner Amy Shuler Goodwin among many others.
“What makes this such a unique opportunity for West Virginia and a unique application for the Commission is that we’ve really brought together the stakeholders in a major way,” Stuart said.
West Virginia’s 200-plus page application was officially submitted to the Commission on Presidential Debates on Tuesday. The deadline for applications is March 31. The full list of applicants will be released next Wednesday, launching an extensive review process.
Announcements about the locations for next year’s three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate are expected by early November of this year.
If West Virginia is chosen, a debate could be held in late September or early October 2016 following a year of pre-debate events at both WVU and WVSU.
“When you just think about the exposure that this will provide, not only for the state but for both of the universities, and the opportunity to really create engagement for our students to be able to have meaningful dialogue around our political process, I think it’s going to be a special moment in time, if we’re able to secure it,” said Brian Hemphill, WVSU president.
Gordon Gee, WVU president, agreed. “You wouldn’t want to do this just to do it, you want to do it as a living, learning experience for your students. I’m very focused on the opportunity it will provide to tell a story about our state,” Gee said during an appearance with Hemphill on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
Letters of support for the proposal came from West Virginia’s entire Congressional delegation, former Governor Gaston Caperton and others.
Some of the specific requirements for applicants are as follows:
-A debate hall of at least 17,000 square feet that is air conditioned.
-A large parking area close to the debate hall for 40 television remote trucks.
-Nearby hotels that can provide 3,000 rooms for the event.
-Good air and ground transportation networks.
-The host’s guarantee of complete city services, including public safety personnel.
The Commission on Presidential Debates was created in 1987 to oversee debates for presidential and vice presidential candidates during every general election.