Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and U.S. Senator JD Vance take the debate stage Tuesday in New York as the Democratic and Republican vice presidential candidates try to attract voters with just more than a month left before the November presidential election.
The debate is the only one of the campaign between Walz and Vance, and could be the final direct matchup between their respective tickets. There are no further debates on the schedule between the candidates for president, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The campaigns are looking for any edge in a tight race, as national polls show Harris with a slight advantage over Trump, but with virtually no space between them in a handful of states that will be crucial in deciding who will be the next president.
Bill Galston, a senior fellow in governance at the Brookings Institution, told VOA that an important part of debate for both Walz and Vance is not making a mistake or expressing a policy position that is not shared by their presidential candidate.
“The first thing they need to do is to introduce themselves to the electorate, and each will be trying to make a good general impression,” Galston said. “Second, the prime law of vice-presidential candidates is pretty much the same as the prime law of vice presidents; namely, do nothing that would weaken or undermine or embarrass your candidate or your president.”
Voters in recent U.S. presidential elections have been able to rely on seeing several debates involving the presidential candidates, but this cycle has been different.
Trump took part in a June debate against President Joe Biden, an event that did not go well for Biden and prompted calls from his party to exit the race. After Harris became the Democratic nominee, she and Trump squared off in a debate last month.
Voters in six of the 50 U.S. states are already casting early ballots. Tuesday’s debate comes as that number is about to expand, with 14 more states opening to early voters by October 16.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters
