2020 general election debates announced

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Friday that the first 2020 general election debate will be held in September and will be hosted by the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. 

The debate, which will be held on Sept. 29, 2020, will be one of three general election presidential debates. 

{mosads}The commission also said the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will host the second general election debate on Oct. 15, 2020. 

The final presidential debate will be held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 29, 2020. 

The group also revealed that the University of Utah is slated to host the vice presidential debate on Oct. 7, 2020. 

The debate will follow 12 Democratic primary debates, which will wrap up in April. The fourth Democratic primary debate will take place on Tuesday in Westerville, Oh. 

The general election debates between President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton set record ratings in 2016. 

The three debates between Trump and Clinton, as well as the vice presidential debate between Vice President Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), brought in a total of 259 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The previous record was held by the 1992 debate lineup, which featured the three-way debate between then-President George H.W. Bush, then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and businessman Ross Perot, along with the vice presidential debate between then-Sen. Al Gore (D-Tenn.), then-Vice President Dan Quayle and retired Vice Adm. James Stockdale. 

The 1992 debates brought in a total of 250 million viewers.