More detailed policies and fewer made-for-TV zingers during Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate offered less opportunity for members of Congress to immediately go after Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) or Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).
The candidates’ Midwestern-niceness and civil rhetoric underscored a contrast with the more tense and bombastic showing on display just weeks earlier between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Both men agreed with one another on — albeit minor — various issues and statements throughout the 90-minute event that was the first and likely last debate between them.
A flash poll of debate-watchers from host network CBS News found that 42% of those surveyed felt Vance won, 41% said Walz, and 17% called it a tie. An overwhelming majority — a whopping 88% — considered the overall tone as “generally positive” compared to 12% who said “generally negative.” Vance’s favorable rating climbed 9 points from 40% beforehand to 49% afterward, and Walz saw his rating go up eight points from 52% to 60%.
“I think Tim Walz is voting for Trump/Vance,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) posted. “He agreed with JD 5 different times and kept nodding in agreement.”
Vance did the same with Walz, chipping away at his unfavorable image when he showed empathy for Walz’s child witnessing a shooting, described Walz’s desire to tackle illegal immigration as genuine, and agreed with Walz on the need to address the devastation from Hurricane Helene and reduce gun violence.
Still, the Harris and Trump campaigns quickly declared victory with far more punctuated and partisan statements. Some Republicans recycled accusations from the Harris-Trump debate of moderator bias against Vance, while Democrats praised Walz for his “characteristic decency.”
“Tonight Tim Walz displayed his characteristic decency and passion for making everyday life better for Americans,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “Even when facing polished falsehoods, he reminded us why the future will be so much better under Kamala Harris’ leadership than a return to the chaos of the Trump era.”
Some strategists knocked Vance for his performance, with former Trump Pentagon press secretary Alyssa Farah Griffin saying the Ohio senator’s “greatest political talent is that he’s a chameleon.”
“He can play the role of eloquent, empathetic debate opponent & just as easily pivot to Far-Right Internet Troll who spreads baseless lies about immigrants,” Griffin said.
Democratic strategist David Axelrod said Vance was performing well until the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack and certifying the election were raised.
“Vance was doing well tonight,” Axelrod said. “And then Walz asked a direct question about the 2020 election, and Vance ran from it like a bat out of hell.”
Vance said he was “focused on the future” when asked about the debunked 2020 election fraud claims, to which Walz replied, “That is a damning non-answer.”
Several lawmakers, such as Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), accused the moderators of favoring Walz and triple-teaming Vance.
“Once again, another major media outlet embarrasses themselves on a debate stage,” Rubio said. “In just the first 30 minutes of the CBS debate, the moderators have already offered two gratuitous editorial statements, (one of them misleading), taking a shot at J.D. Vance under the guise of ‘fact checking.’”
“J.D. is doing great,” Luna said. “CBS is helping Walz.”
Issa called the debate the “most lopsided vice presidential debate ever.”
“[Vance] was on his game,” he said. “Tim Walz was nervous, uninformed, and didn’t explain why he lies all the time.”
Most lawmakers kept personal attacks out of their posts, given the candidates’ more serious tones on policy. But some like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) took it upon themselves to shine a light on topics that weren’t discussed, such as the riots in Minneapolis under Walz after the death of George Floyd.
“Tim Walz let Minnesota burn,” Jordan said, stating in an earlier post that “Tim Walz wants to take your guns, but didn’t prosecute those who rioted and looted in the streets of Minnesota.”
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) declared Vance the winner “hands down.”
“Senator [Vance] won this debate hands down, because he had answers, solutions, and policies that would help restore the American Dream for all,” Johnson said. “That restoration will start when we elect President [Trump] and grow our House majority.”