Republican presidential candidates from left, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Scott Walker, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and John Kasich take the stage for the first Republican presidential debate at the Quicken Loans Arena on Aug. 6 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
It remains to be seen how much of a role the student body at the University of Colorado, with its liberal reputation, will play in the Oct. 28 Republican debate at CU in Boulder.
The liberal advocacy group ProgressNow Colorado wants at least half the seats in the Coors Events Center available to CU students.
“The Republican Party is partnering with the University of Colorado to host this debate, and enlisting the credibility of Colorado’s flagship educational institution to elevate the GOP and the participating candidates,” said ProgressNow Colorado executive director Amy Runyon-Harms. “The audience for the debate therefore must be representative of the students of the University of Colorado.”
She said Colorado progressives support CU’s decision to host the debate with the Republican National Committee and the cable channel CNBC. The Boulder debate is supposed to focus on economic issues.
Fred Brown, a spokesman for the RNC, said decisions are still pending, but student involvement is part of the plan.
“It’s still very early in the process but we look forward to having CU students involved in several aspects of the debate,” he said in an e-mail.
Ryan Huff, a spokesman for the university, said the RNC is handling ticket distribution. but CU is planning a student watch party in the University Memorial Center, as well.
“We will be informing the candidates of the location, if they would like to stop by after the debate,” Huff said.
In a press release announcing the debate in July, CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano, said the event would be memorable for CU students.
“We have a long history at CU-Boulder of hosting high-profile visitors who bring exciting and engaging opportunities for our students and community to hear a variety of viewpoints,” he said. “We appreciate the opportunity to partner with CNBC and feel this debate will be a memorable experience for our students and the entire community.”
The Coors Event Center has a capacity of about 11,000, but the number of seats available could depend on how much space the stage, TV cameras and non-CNBC press take up. An audience of about 4,500 attended the Aug. 6 Republican debate in Cleveland, though the Quicken Loans Arena seats more than 20,500. There were more than 7,000 requests for tickets to that debate, .
