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Vice-presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz are facing off in a debate in New York, laying out sharply contrasting visions of the US at a pivotal moment in the final stretch of the 2024 White House race.
With just over a month until polling day, it is the first, and probably only, debate between Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s running mates, and a chance for Vance, in particular, to improve his tepid approval ratings.
An Associated Press poll last week showed more than half — 57 per cent — of registered voters had an unfavourable view of Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, compared with just under a third who disliked Walz, Minnesota’s Democratic governor.
Tuesday’s showdown, hosted by CBS News, is also probably the last televised debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle. While Harris has accepted an invitation from CNN for another presidential debate in late October, Trump has said he has no intention of taking the stage again.
The Financial Times poll tracker shows that while Harris enjoys a 3.6 percentage point lead over Trump in national polls, the two candidates remain in a virtual tie in all seven swing states that are likely to decide who wins the White House.
The first presidential debate between Harris and Trump last month on ABC News was viewed by more than 60mn people, according to Nielsen estimates, and was widely seen as a “win” for Harris, who repeatedly put Trump on the defensive.
Yet the showdown has failed to have a significant impact on either candidate’s polling numbers, and few political operatives — including insiders from both campaigns — believe Tuesday’s debate will move the needle.
Still, the stakes remain high for Vance and Walz, as the debate offers both men arguably their biggest platform to pitch themselves — and more importantly their bosses — to the American electorate.
Vance, 40, had been seen as a rising star in the Republican party since he was elected to the US Senate in 2022. But his time on the campaign trail has been controversial, with the one-time Trump critic-turned-Maga loyalist’s approval ratings falling, particularly among women.
Even so, allies and critics say Vance — a Yale Law School graduate, Marine veteran and former venture capitalist — is likely to deliver a strong performance on Tuesday night. The Ohio senator prepared for the debate with help from top Trump campaign advisers; his wife, former US Supreme Court clerk Usha Vance; and Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer, who has played the role of Walz in mock debates.
Walz, a 60-year-old former teacher and high school football coach who served several terms in Congress before running for governor of Minnesota, is generally seen as a less enthusiastic debater. He also dedicated significant time to preparing for the event, with US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg — arguably one of the Democratic party’s most effective communicators — playing the part of Vance.
According to rules announced by CBS News last week, the format of the vice-presidential debate will largely mirror the presidential debate, taking place in a studio for 90 minutes with no audience and the two moderators the only ones asking questions.
No props or notes will be allowed on stage, and no topics or questions will be shared in advance. In one notable change from the presidential debate format, microphones are expected to remain on throughout the entire debate, rather than muted when it is not a candidate’s designated turn to speak.
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