Politics

/

ArcaMax

A VP debate that matters? Vance, Walz will try to win over those few undecided voters

James Rainey, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Political News

Five weeks before the final day of voting in the U.S. presidential election, Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate represents what will probably be the last face-to-face showdown between the Democratic and Republican tickets for the White House.

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are scheduled to confront each other at 6 p.m. Pacific time in a 90-minute showdown hosted by CBS News.

With no more debates planned between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the battle of the No. 2s is the last mass-viewership event on the campaign calendar. The debate is expected to draw tens of millions of viewers.

While experts say that vice presidential debates almost never alter the trajectory of a national election, the debate is expected to be closely watched by partisans on both sides and by the small number of voters still making up their minds.

Polls show that the Democrat, Walz, has a more positive profile with the public. Vance has drawn a disproportionate share of the negative attention.

The strongest rebukes have come for the Republican’s claims that the U.S. is being run by Democrats and “a bunch of childless cat ladies,” and for his insistence that he should be able to “create stories” about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating family pets to support his contention that immigrants are hurting America.

Walz has been asked to explain his comment, during a talk about the need for gun control, about “weapons of war, that I carried in war.” Though Walz served for more than two decades in the National Guard, he never deployed to a war zone or carried a gun in combat.

 

Vance, 40, is expected to lean most heavily into the state of the economy and illegal immigration. Surveys show more Americans have confidence in the Republicans on those issues.

Walz, 60, will likely talk about abortion rights and use the issue to accuse the Republicans of using the government to reach too deeply into people’s personal lives. Polls show the Democrats have the advantage when they discuss that issue, which they frame as “reproductive freedom.”

Moderating the session will be “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, host of the network’s Sunday show, “Face the Nation.”

CNN hosted the first debate of the presidential runoff season, a late June contest between former President Trump and President Biden. CNN’s hosts did not intervene to correct misstatements by the candidates.

That changed in September, when Trump and Harris debated, and the ABC News moderators corrected several of Trump’s misstatements. They didn’t correct Harris.

Moderators will not correct the candidates’ misstatements, but the New York Times reported that CBS plans to display a QR code that will send viewers to CBS’ website, where the network’s journalists will be fact-checking in real time.


©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

By Michael Reagan
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

By Oliver North and David L. Goetsch
R. Emmett Tyrrell

R. Emmett Tyrrell

By R. Emmett Tyrrell
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Kirk Walters Drew Sheneman Bob Englehart Bob Gorrell Eric Allie Daryl Cagle