The microphones won’t be muted at these six Bay Area presidential debate watch parties Tuesday night, many featuring booze, bingo, or comedians just making fun of the whole thing.  

Tonight is the only scheduled presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, after that disastrous Joe Biden debate performance in June effectively knocked him out of the race. So the stakes are high in this make-or-break event, with polling suggesting that the race is currently a dead heat in the battleground states.

The ABC News debate will be held at the  National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, starting at 6 pm PT. And if you prefer to be among a crowd of drinkers or hecklers during Tuesday night’s debate, there are plenty of meetups and debate watch parties happening in San Francisco, Oakland, or on Zoom. Most of these have meetups and mixers starting at 5 or 5:30 pm in the leadup to the 6 pm debate.

And, neighborhood bars all over the city will likely have the sound up on the debate, if they have TVs.

We noted yesterday that the SF Democratic Party would be having a debate watch party in their new headquarters inside the former Nordstrom Rack shoe store at Market and Fifth streets. But the invite for that event shows it is “at capacity,” so unless you’ve got some hook-ups among the top brass of the local Democratic Party, you will need to find another debate watch party.

Here are six options. Some are free, others are not, and we’re showing seat availability as of press time for this post. Meaning, some of these could sell out, so you may want to register fast.

Kamala vs. Trump: SF's Free Debate Watch Party (Happy Hour 'til 6:30pm)
The relatively new Civic Center-area comedy club and bar The Function brings the HellaFunny comedy crew in for a free debate watch party that is sure to be loaded with mockery. Happy Hour begins at 3 pm, with The Function’s $11 Happy Hour deal of a beer, a shot, and a lottery scratcher combo.  The Function, 1414 Market Street (at Fell Street), Free with RSVP

Presidential Debate Watch Party at the Commonwealth Club
Local political media personality Melissa Caen will host and provide some zingers at the California Commonwealth Club debate watch party, with snacks included with your ticket, and a cash bar. Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California, 110 The Embarcadero (at Mission Street)$10 for Commonwealth Club members, $15 for non-members, tickets here

Presidential Debate Watch Party at the The Chapel
The event space Manny’s official presidential debate watch party is not at the event space Manny’s. The Manny’s official watch party is over at The Chapel, but only $37 tickets currently remain available. There is a spillover event at the Manny’s space at 16th and Valencia, but that event appears to no longer have tickets available. The Chapel, 777 Valencia Street (at 19th Street), $37, tickets here

Presidential Debate Watch Party w/ the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club
The Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club hosts this debate watch party at the Castro’s LGBTQ+ social club The Academy. It’s free for Academy members and their esteemed plus-ones, $20 for the general public. The Academy, 2166 Market Street (at Sanchez Street), $20 for non-members, tickets here

Politics Suck: Presidential Debate Watch with Comedians
This one’s in Oakland at the co-working space Oakstop, and also being held on Zoom. Comedians Wonder Dave, K. Cheng, CYNTHIAINPUBLIC, and Weyam will skewer and fact-check in real time, and per the invite, “Snacks will be served as we watch the carnage unfold together.” Oakstop, 1721 Broadway #201 (at Franklin Street), $15 for 2-for-1 at $12.50 tickets here, $7 on Zoom tickets here

Hi Tops Castro Debate Watch Party
The Castro’s famed LGBTQ+ sports bar Hi Tops will have a 6 pm debate watch party, though their weekly Tuesday night trivia will also be going on after — it might be delayed if these debate proceedings are still hot and heavy after 8 pm. Hi Tops, 2247 Market Street (at 16th Street), Free

And for those of you playing at home Axios has a pretty good Trump-Harris debate bingo card and drinking game.

Related: SF Democrats Take Over Vacant Nordstrom Rack on Market Street [SFist]

Image: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 09: Final preparations are made in the spin room prior to the ABC News Presidential Debate on September 09, 2024 at the Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump will face off in their first debate tomorrow evening at the Constitution Center. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)