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Secret Service visits Texas State University ahead of planned presidential debate, records show

University to host first of four general election debates in September 2024

Empty seats in the Alkek Teaching theatre at Texas State University in San Marcos on Aug. 24, 2020. Texas State will host the first of four presidential debates next year, university officials said Monday. (Jordan Vonderhaar For The Texas Tribune, Jordan Vonderhaar For The Texas Tribune)

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The US Secret Service visited Texas State University in San Marcos in connection to its selection to host a 2024 presidential debate, according to records obtained by KSAT 12 News.

The agency attended a site visit at the university, “which is evidence of a potential physical safety threat to the presidential candidates,” the documents stated.

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Records show Texas State University’s Police Department has been working alongside Secret Service to assess the security of the debate site and hotels.

The university will host the first of four scheduled general election debates on Sept. 16, 2024.

It’s set to make history as the first Texas location selected for a presidential debate. It’s also the only state university to have graduated a U.S. president — Lyndon B. Johnson.

“We thought that we had a real opportunity to showcase Texas through the lens of the place that made him who he was,” said Texas State President Dr. Kelly Damphousse.


About the Author
Daniela Ibarra headshot

Daniela Ibarra joined the KSAT News team in July 2023. This isn’t her first time in the KSAT newsroom– the San Antonio native spent the summer of 2017 as an intern. Daniela is a proud Mean Green alum, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Texas.

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