Tim Walz vs. J.D. Vance: Schedule, rules and where to watch the debate

On Tuesday, October 1, Americans will be able to tune into the debate between the vice presidential candidates Tim Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, and J.D. Vance, a Republican senator for the state of Ohio. They will do so three weeks after their bosses, Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, faced each other in Philadelphia, in an event that according to the polls was won by the former California attorney and watched by 67 million television viewers.

The candidates will arrive at the event with the firm goal of attracting more voters. Normally, the vice presidential face-off does not arouse much interest among voters because these are hand-picked by the presidential candidates, but this time could be the exception. J.D. Vance, 40, has featured in some of the most controversial moments of the race, such as when he suggested that Harris would not make a good president because she never had children, or the famous hoax about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield (Ohio).

Walz, 60, has been one of the surprises in an atypical Democratic campaign, and despite being unknown to a large part of the electorate, he is doing better in the polls than his opponent. According to EL PAÍS’ predictions, the Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance campaigns are almost tied, with a 55% chance of winning for the former and a 45% chance for the latter, respectively.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that the Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, has been serving as a stand-in for Vance to help Walz train for the debate, while on the other side, it was representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota who helped J.D. Vance prepare.

The rules

The debate will be produced and broadcast by CBS and, as in previous years, will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks. The hosts will be Norah O’Donnell, anchor of the CBS Evening News, and Margaret Brennan, anchor of Face the Nation.

This time, there will be no audience or opening statements. Advisers from both campaigns will not be allowed to interact with the candidates during the breaks. Walz will be positioned behind the podium on the left side of the stage (they will no longer be seated as previously in this type of debate), while Vance will be on the right side. The candidates will have two minutes to respond to a question and another two for a reply. They will also have an additional minute to continue the debate.

Unlike the Harris-Trump meeting, microphones will not be muted when the opponent is speaking, though CBS News reserves the right to turn them off. Vance won a virtual lottery to be the one to make the final statement, for which both candidates will have two minutes.

The topics to be discussed will not be revealed until the broadcast begins, but Walz will surely seek to connect with voters with his progressive agenda, while Vance will try to sell Republican ideas for the economy and security as the right ones for the future of the country.

Where and when to watch the debate

The debate will take place in New York at the CBS Broadcast Center at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), and can be seen on EL PAÍS along with our reporters’ commentary and analysis in Spanish. Other television networks will replicate the CBS signal, and streaming options will be available on Paramount+, CBSNews.com and YouTube.

Will there be more debates?

It’s unlikely. J.D. Vance has expressed his openness to the possibility of scheduling more than one meeting, but given what happened between Harris and Trump, this could be the last one-on-one of the campaign before the election, hence its importance.

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