It’ll be a showdown between two Midwest men when Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, face off in the vice presidential debate Tuesday evening in New York City.
The stakes are high in what likely will be the only debate between the vice presidential candidates as both Vance and Walz will attempt to lay out the path to victory for their respective running mates—former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris—and themselves.
Both men, new to the level of national scrutiny focused on a presidential campaign, have studied for this debate.
Sources told CBS News that Vance, first elected to public office in 2022, has spent more than a month preparing while maintaining a vigorous campaign schedule. Vance and his team have held “murder board” sessions with top Trump-Vance campaign communications officials.
“We’re studying up as much as we can on the issues that matter to the American people, and I’m looking forward to it,” Vance recently said of the debate.
Beyond the issues, Vance and company have keyed in on Walz’s own policy record and his debate style in previous outings. Vance’s goal, it seems, is to cast the Harris-Walz ticket as far left and incapable of solving the nation’s problems, namely illegal immigration, inflation, and instability worldwide.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is familiar with Walz’s record and style, given he represents the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Emmer has been standing in for Walz during Vance’s debate prep.
“My job was to be able to play Tim Walz so JD Vance knows what he’s going to see,” Emmer told ABC News’ “This Week.”
So far, Walz has been on the offensive on the campaign trail. He has called Trump and Vance “weird as hell.” He’s told the GOP ticket to “mind your own damn business.” And he’s repeatedly claimed that he “can’t wait to debate” Vance.
Nevertheless, a report from CNN claims that Walz actually warned Harris in August that he is a “bad debater.” More than a dozen campaign staffers told CNN that the Minnesota governor is afraid he will let down Harris, his running mate.
No surprise, then, that Walz also has been intensely preparing for the debate with campaign advisers, several of whom reportedly also were involved in Harris’ debate prep.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has played Vance opposite Walz. Buttigieg also helped Harris prepare for her vice presidential debate in 2020.
Walz’s strategy, sources told CNN, is to brush Vance aside and focus on Trump because, as Walz recently asserted at a fundraiser in New York City, Vance is “selling his soul to Donald Trump.” The challenge for Walz will be balancing a vigorous attack with the positive and plainspoken style he’s known for.
Meanwhile, Vance, like Trump, has a combative debate style, albeit the Ohio senator is more measured in his delivery. If Trump is like a hammer, Vance is more like a scalpel.
Vance will attempt to draw the contrast between the Trump and Biden years, but he’ll also look to play the role of journalist amid the Harris-Walz ticket’s lack of media appearances. He’ll likely ask Walz pointed rhetorical questions about the Biden-Harris administration’s record, why the Biden-Harris administration didn’t implement Harris’ plans on Day One if they would solve the Americans’ problems, and what actually happened to President Joe Biden that forced him to drop out of the presidential race after one debate with Trump.
Nevertheless, Vance could confront unexpected opponents—namely, the debate moderators—just as Trump did in the Sept. 10 presidential debate hosted by ABC News.
The vice presidential debate, hosted by CBS News, will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan. The network has promised there will be no fact checks by the moderators, unlike the ABC News debate, but said they do have the power to mute a speaker’s microphone if they so choose.
The backlash to ABC News’ bias during its presidential debate was so severe that it appears to have worked in Trump’s favor. If the moderators conduct themselves similarly Tuesday night, Walz might fade into the background.
But given the Harris-Walz ticket’s media strategy, that might be the result the campaign is hoping for.
