Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance have agreed to debate each other on October 1, setting up a matchup of potential vice presidents as early voting in some states gets underway for the general election.
CBS News on Wednesday posted on its X feed that the network had invited Vance and Walz to debate in New York City, presenting four dates — September 17, September 24, October 1 and October 8 — as options.
Walz reposted that message from his own campaign account, “See you on October 1, JD.” The Harris-Walz campaign followed up with a message of its own, saying Walz “looks forward to debating JD Vance — if he shows up.”
Vance posted on X that he would accept the October 1 invitation. He also challenged Walz to meet on September 18.
Whether Walz and Vance would debate before the November 5 general election had been in question. In just the past several weeks, President Joe Biden left the campaign, and Democrats selected Vice President Kamala Harris to lead their ticket.
Vance has largely kept his focus trained on Harris, whom he would have been set to debate before Biden’s departure from the race. Vance has lobbed critiques against Walz, including questioning the retired Army National Guardsman’s service record.
Trump has said he wanted Vance to debate Walz on CBS, which had been discussing potential dates for that meeting.
The debate is expected weeks after the September 10 top-of-the-ticket debate recently solidified between Trump and Harris on ABC News.
Trump has said he negotiated several other debate dates, on three different networks. Fox News has also proposed a debate between Harris and Trump to take place on September 4, and NBC News is angling to air one on September 25.
During an appearance in Michigan, Harris said she was “happy to have that conversation” about an additional debate.
