Vance and Walz meet for the only vice presidential debate as Election Day approaches

NEW YORK (TND) — Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday night in the only scheduled debate between the vice presidential candidates, with the 2024 election just over a month away and voter support at stake for both candidates.

It appears to be the last chance for Americans to see the debate between the two presidential candidates, as Trump declined to debate Harris again after their first meeting last month. Harris accepted an invitation to a CNN debate on October 23 and tried to persuade the former president to change his mind, but was unsuccessful.

That will leave both candidates with the final words to say in a debate period, adding even more pressure to what is already shaping up to be one of the closest elections in U.S. history. National polls have shown Harris with a modest lead over Trump and polls in the swing states that will decide the Electoral College and the election are all within the margin of error, suggesting the race is essentially a coin toss.

It will be the biggest stage for Vance and Walz to introduce themselves to voters. It will also likely be a night full of heated exchanges and sharp lines of attack, as vice presidential candidates tend to play the role of attack dogs to secure the top spot.

Vance has attempted to portray Walz as a radical liberal out of touch with everyday Americans and attacked him for his military service, while Walz has focused on Vance’s opposition to abortion and coined the “strange” line of attack against Republican positions .

Both were catapulted into the presidential political spotlight by being chosen as Trump and Harris’s candidates from relative unknowns. While both were involved in the election campaign, they received the most attention when they accepted nominations for vice president at their parties’ conventions.

For many people, the debate is their first exposure to a candidate for an extended period of time, making it an important moment for both to make a good impression.

But it’s unclear how important the results of the debate will ultimately be in determining whether to cast a ballot, as voters tend to prioritize the top of the electoral roll rather than the vice presidential pick.

The rules are similar to the Trump-Harris debate. There will be no opening statement and there will be two four-minute breaks. Candidates have two minutes each to answer a question and one minute for rebuttals.

The network said it would leave fact-checking to the candidates during the debate after the Trump campaign took issue with the way the moderators handled it during the ABC debate during his face-off with Harris.

The microphones will be hot during the debate but can be muted if the network chooses to do so, CBS said in a news release Friday. Candidates are not permitted to have pre-written notes or props and are provided with a pen, paper and water. Campaign staff are also not permitted to interact with candidates during breaks.

The debate begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and is expected to last approximately 90 minutes. It will be streamed online and available on television. It will be hosted by CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan.

The debate will be broadcast on CBS and ABC and streamed online.