The first in a series of presidential debates took place at 8 p.m. Thursday.
The College Democrats held a watch party for the first debate and they plan to hold a party for each of the upcoming debates as well, said Daniel Melder, former president of the College Democrats.
“We are planning to have a party for each debate: the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, and the presidential debates on Friday and Oct. 13,” Melder said. “We had more than 40 supporters at last Thursday’s party including some faculty and members of the county party.”
The College Republicans did not hold a formal watch party for the first debate, but they are planning one for the second presidential debate, said Lindsey Tew, chairman of the MSU College Republican chapter.
Tew said the group plans to have a debate watch party at her apartment following the Homecoming parade Friday.
The College Democrats hold their watch parties at the local campaign headquarters downtown, Melder said.
“The headquarters is located at 111 West Main St.,” Melder said. “The building used to house a business and the people that owned the building are strong supporters of the Democratic party so they allowed us to rent it for the debate nights.”
The College Republicans who did gather to watch the first debate complemented both candidates on their performances but felt that issues were merely brushed, Tew said.
“We thought that both candidates did well, but we didn’t think the candidates really got into it,” Tew said. “We thought President Bush did a pretty good job.”
The College Democrats enjoyed the debate and the time spent together as an organization Melder said.
“Our crowd was very enthused by Kerry’s performance. We were shown how unprepared for leadership Bush is,” Melder said. “Beyond our opportunity to see our candidate do well we were provided with a chance to spend time together as a group and we used that time to discuss our strategy for future election-related activities.”
A campus political debate is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 13 in Simrall Auditorium. It will be sponsored by the SA and RHA, said Simon Bailey, director of governmental affairs for the SA.
“Both the College Democrats and College Republicans have responded and will be participating in the debate,” Bailey said. “The Campus Greens have been contacted as well.”
There will be three members from each club participating in the debate, said Brandon Bogard, president of MSU College Democrats.
“There will be one prefabricated question that will come from the Student Association governmental affairs,” Bogard said. “The rest of the questions will come from the audience.”