DENVER—The national political spotlight is again on Denver as President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney meet in their first debate.
Drivers are being warned that a six-mile stretch of Interstate 25 through southern Denver will be closed for five hours because of the debate at the University of Denver on Wednesday night. The closure forced commuters to scramble for alternate routes or to take mass transit instead. Many decided to work from home or call in sick.
The university expects protesters and interested observers to gather outside the debate, which will be shown on screens in the “DebateFest” area for people who didn’t get tickets.
Tickets to the debate weren’t available to the public. Some students won tickets through a lottery.
Before the debate, Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am will headline a voter registration rally at a park across from university. He’s also set to deejay before Obama’s appearance at a rally Thursday morning at Sloan’s Lake Park in Denver.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Occupy movement plan to protest the debate, saying it is designed to divide people and divert attention away from solving the nation’s root problems. Green Party presidential candidates Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala will join them. Stein and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson will participate in an alternative debate to be broadcast by “Democracy Now!” from downtown Denver.
Watch parties are planned around the state, including one for about 300 people at the new History Colorado Center. The debate will be followed there by a town-hall style discussion involving the audience and a panel including former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, a Democrat, and former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown, a Republican.
The Romney campaign is hosting 49 debate watch parties around the state. The Obama campaign is holding watch parties at restaurants and field offices in Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Durango and Pueblo.
