When Senator Blunt was elected as Missouri Secretary of State in 1984, he was the first Republican elected to that job in 52 years. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Missouri’s 7th congressional district in 1996. In 2010, he successfully ran for the U.S. Senate and served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and led the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration as well as the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education & Related Agencies. He also served as Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. Senator Blunt left the U.S. Congress in January 2023. Among his many achievements in Congress, Senator Blunt is one of only two Americans in congressional history to be elected to a leadership position by his colleagues in both the House and the Senate.
Senator Blunt is actively involved in promoting and preserving the arts and history. He has served as a member of the Smithsonian Museum’s Council of American Art, a member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, and is President of the State Historical Society of Missouri. Currently, Senator Blunt serves as an Executive Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, Chair of the Advisory Board of the National Geospatial Agency of the U.S. Government, Chairman of the Leadership Advisory Strategies group at Husch Blackwell Strategies, and serves on the Southwest Airlines and Tenet Healthcare Board of Directors.
Fahrenkopf and Hernández noted, “We are deeply grateful that Senator Blunt is joining the team as we implement plans for 2024. His experience is extensive and respected. The 2024 debates will be the CPD's tenth series of forums that educate the public through fair, neutral and substantive discussion of the issues."
The 2024 general election presidential debates will take place on September 16 at Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, on October 1 at Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA and on October 9 at The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. The vice presidential debate will take place on September 25 at Lafayette College, Easton, PA.
In addition to sponsoring and producing the general election debates, the CPD engages in voter education initiatives, provides technical assistance to sponsors of nonpresidential debates, and has established Debates International, a peer network of NGOs that seeks to start or improve leadership debates in their countries.