Candy Crowley will moderate presidential debate; first woman moderator in two decades
CNN’s chief political correspondent and anchor Candy Crowley was named the moderator of the second presidential debate of the 2012 general election.
The first woman moderator was ABC’s Carole Simpson, an African-American, who landed the position in 1992.
“As someone who is in awe and grateful every day to be in a country where freedom of the press, free speech and free elections are a way of life, I am wowed, amazed and excited by the opportunity to moderate a 2012 presidential debate,” Crowley said, according to CNN.
The announcement followed a recent call for another female moderator since Simpson. Three teenage girls from New Jersey petitioned online at Change.org, advocating for a newswoman to lead a presidential debate. Some female lawmakers and women’s group also expressed this hope.
“It is long past due to have a woman on the same stage as the men running for president,” Sammi Siegel, one of the three teenage petitioners, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The commission, however, did not address the gender discourse, and only acknowledged the selected moderators’ extensive journalistic experiences.
Crowley started to work for CNN in 1987. She has covered multiple presidential campaigns and national political conventions throughout her career.
The debate will occur on Tuesday, October 16, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.
