US Elections: Vance Agrees to October VP Debate with Walz on CBS

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Facts

  • Democratic and Republican vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance have agreed to debate on CBS News on Oct. 1. Vance confirmed his intent to take part a day after Walz's acceptance of CBS' offer on Wednesday.[1][2]
  • CBS News had offered both Minnesota Gov. Walz and Sen. Vance (R-OH) four potential dates (Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, and Oct. 8) for the debate. Vance has since also publicly accepted a further invitation by CNN to debate Walz on Sept. 18.[3][2]
  • Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, Sen. Vance had claimed that while he 'strongly suspect[ed]' the two were to debate on Oct. 1, his team would 'talk about the rules a little bit' and ensure it wasn't an alleged 'fake news media garbage debate' without an audience.[4]
  • 2024 presidential candidates former Pres. Donald Trump and Vice Pres. Kamala Harris are also scheduled to debate on ABC News on Sept. 10. Trump previously debated then-Democratic candidate Pres. Joe Biden on June 27.[5]
  • A poll of nearly 1.6K US adults by The Economist/YouGov between Aug. 11-13 found Gov. Walz was viewed 40% favorably and 39% unfavorably, compared to Sen. Vance's 36% and 37% respectively (+/- 3.3%).[6]
  • As of Aug. 14, ABC's FiveThirtyEight national polling average placed Harris at 46.2%, ahead of Trump by 2.6 percentage points at 43.6%.[7]

Sources: [1]X (a), [2]X (b), [3]X (c), [4]FOX News, [5]CBS, [6]yougov.co.uk and [7]FiveThirtyEight.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Guardian and The New Republic. October's debate between Walz and Vance will be the perfect moment for the Republican vice presidential candidate to be scrutinized for his radical links to Project 2025. Vance's campaign trail has so far been disastrous, and despite his best attempts to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation, the GOP ticket's hardline policies on key freedoms such as abortion will soon be visible for all of America to see.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by National Review and FOX News. While Harris and her campaign team continue to hide from the media, Vance is out on the campaign trail articulating Trump's policy vision to the American people. Taking the fight to the American establishment, Vance and the GOP have accepted not one but two VP debate offers – it is time to see whether Democrats will put their money their mouth is.

Predictions