Political buffs will hear differing ideas on a variety of issues on Tuesday evening.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, and current Vice-President Kamala Harris, will square off for what is, so far, the only televised debate scheduled during this election season.
ABC News is hosting the debate, with lead "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir and ABC News Live "Prime" anchor Linsey Price acting as moderators. It begins at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
The debate will be held without a studio audience and last 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks, and the moderators are the only ones who will be permitted to ask questions.
Microphones will also be muted for candidates when it is not their turn to speak, reducing the likelihood of interruptions and shouting matches. Topics such as the border, immigration, the economy, and others are expected to be debated.
The debate is the latest red-letter day on an election cycle that has been one of the most tumultuous in U.S. history.
Trump, the Republican nominee and President from 2017 to 2021, easily cruised to his third GOP nomination, despite being injured in an assassination attempt that killed one person.
Despite being recently convicted of falsifying documents in New York, Trump has kept the election close, according to various opinion polls. If he is reelected, he will be the second President, after Grover Cleveland, to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Current U.S. President Joe Biden is not running again, following a disastrous debate performance against Trump earlier this year that resulted in Biden being pressured to step aside.
Harris, a former California Attorney General and U.S. Senator, received Biden's endorsement and had little trouble securing the delegates needed for the Democratic nomination. If she is elected, she would be the first female President, and the first woman of colour to hold the office.
The lone vice-presidential debate, to feature Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and U.S. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, will take place on October 1 in New York City. That debate will be hosted by CBS News, with "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell and "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan moderating.