Candy Crowley to Moderate Presidential Debate at Hofstra

Following growing calls for a woman moderator of a presidential debate, Candy Crowley has been tapped to lead the debate at Hofstra University on Oct. 16, organizers told POLITICO on Monday.

It will be the second time the Hempstead university hosts a presidential debate and the first time since Carole Simpson moderated the debate in 1992 that a woman will lead the show.

Crowley is CNN's chief political correspondent and hosts the 24-hour news network's Sunday talk show, "State of the Union with Candy Crowley," which she inherited from CNN anchor John King in 2010.

Hofstra is hoping to top its 2008 entry into the presidential debate arena, when journalist Bob Schieffer moderated the debate between future President Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. The event, which packed the college, was largely seen as a success.

The Commission on Presidential Debates also told POLITICO that Jim Lehrer will host the Denver presidential debate on Oct. 3. Schieffer is set to host the debate on Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla.