GOP presidential debate will be held at Wofford
By Lynne P. Shackleford
A Republican presidential primary debate will broadcast live from Wofford College on Nov. 12.
The debate is scheduled to be broadcast live on CBS and will be sponsored by the network and National Journal.
Scott Pelley, anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley,” and National Journal congressional correspondent Major Garrett are set to moderate the 90-minute debate, the first to be hosted by Wofford College.
“We have had presidential candidates here on campus through the years, but this is the first presidential debate that we’ve had here, and we’re certainly very excited,” said Wofford College Director of News Services Laura Corbin on Tuesday afternoon.
Van Hipp Jr., a Wofford alumni and former chairman of the state Republican Party, has endowed the Hipp lecture series on foreign affairs and national security, and the debate will be the first event under that series, Corbin said.
Hipp thought having the debate at Wofford would be a good opportunity for students and the community, and would provide the school with exposure, Corbin said.
Wofford College President Benjamin Dunlap said in a written statement that the institution is an encouraging location for the debate.
“And given our national leadership among foreign study programs, we’re a logical place in which to hold discussions on the subject of national security,” Dunlap said. “Most significantly, it’s our institutional dedication to ‘the unfettered pursuit of knowledge’ that makes us such an appropriate host as we welcome the candidates to our beautiful and historic campus.”