Vance and Walz's big moment

Campaign Report

The Big Story

Vance and Walz's big moment

Vice presidential candidates JD Vance (R) and Tim Walz (D) will take part in what could be the final White House debate of the 2024 race, as the top-of-the-ticket candidates remain deadlocked in a final sprint to Election Day.

Former President Trump and Vice President Harris’s running mates will get their turn on the main stage Tuesday to sell their campaigns, and ding their opponents, in front of millions of prospective voters.

Vance, a polished first-term senator from Ohio, and Walz, the folksy governor of Minnesota, were each catapulted to the national spotlight mere months ago as they accepted their vice presidential nominations this summer.

Both campaigns have sought to tamp down expectations from their match-up in recent days.

Walz's allies have described the former high school football coach as being nervous about going up against an Ivy League grad.

Trump, who has blamed moderators for his own debate performance, admitted on Fox Nation on Monday that he isn't expecting a slam dunk from Vance for the same reason.

"You’ll see it [Tuesday] with J.D., it’ll be stacked," he said.

“CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan will moderate the VP event.

Under the terms of the 90-minute debate, the moderators won’t fact-check the candidates live, so it will be up to Walz and Vance to rebut any false or misleading comments their opponent makes. The CBS broadcast will feature a QR code for live fact checking online from its news team, and most news outlets, including The Hill, will host live blogs for additional context.

Trump has said he won’t take part in another debate after he and Harris went head-to-head on Sept. 10. More than 67 million people tuned in to watch Trump and Harris.

Conventional thought is that vice presidential debates mean little in the broader election outlook. But the Trump-Harris clashe showed debates this cycle can provide plenty of fodder for memes (Harris’s facial expressions), viral videos (“They’re eating the dogs!”) and other campaign intrigue (Taylor Swift’s post-debate endorsement for Harris).

Some pundits also have given a nod to the general unpredictability of the 2024 cycle.

"There's nothing about this race that is like any other race,” veteran political consultant David Axelrod said during an appearance on CNN Tuesday morning.

He also pointed out that at over 78 years old, Trump would be the oldest person inaugurated president if he wins – besting President Biden’s record by a couple of months, and the term would run past Trump’s 82nd birthday.

"There may be an added bit of scrutiny to Vance in this debate," for that reason, Axelrod said.

Harris holds a razor-thin lead across several key swing states, after eroding Trump’s larger edge over Biden. Nationally, Harris is polling at 50.3 percent to Trump’s 45.8 percent, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ tracker.

Vance, 40, who has been in the Senate for less than two years, has struggled with poor favorability ratings and ongoing scrutiny over past controversial statements that have been revived since he joined the ticket. The latest polls have him averaging 48.6 percent unfavorable to 37.8 percent favorable, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ tracker.

Walz, 60, meanwhile, has come under scrutiny for his more liberal track record, while Harris has taken a more moderate tone. Walz’s favorability has polled under 50 percent, but, unlike Vance, more voters have a favorable view of him than unfavorable. The latest polls have him averaging 43.6 percent favorable to 39.7 percent unfavorable, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ tracker.

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, I'm Liz Crisp. Each week we track the key stories you need to know to stay ahead of the 2024 election and who will set the agenda in Washington.

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Essential Reads

Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage:

Trump widens lead over Harris in Georgia: Poll

Former President Trump has widened his lead over Vice President Harris in Georgia, according to a new poll, as the rivals fight for inches in key states in the Southeast. A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Trump up 6 points over Harris in the Peach State, with 50 percent support to her 44 percent. Another 3 percent backed other candidates. That’s a slightly bigger lead than Trump enjoyed last month, when the pollster …

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Harris campaign drops border-focused ad featuring ex-Trump administration official

Vice President Harris’s campaign unveiled an ad Tuesday focused on the nation’s southern border, featuring Olivia Troye, ex-national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence. In the ad first provided exclusively to The Hill, Troye talked about her time working for the Trump administration and argued in favor of Harris’s border security plans. “Kamala Harris is a leader we need to keep our country safe and …

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NAACP launches campaign to boost Black voter turnout

The NAACP announced a $3.75 million radio advertising effort Tuesday to ensure Black voters cast their ballots in swing states. The organization bought ads in battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin but will also pour funds into New York and California, offering support for key congressional districts. The program kicks off Tuesday in North Carolina. “Every vote cast is …

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The Countdown

Upcoming news themes and events we're watching:

Today is the vice-presidential debate.
35 days until the 2024 general election.
112 days until Inauguration Day 2025.

On Our Watch

How to watch the big debate

When: 9 p.m. ET

Where: The debate will air on hosting network CBS and other major outlets including NewsNation, C-SPAN, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and PBS. Most networks also have planned related programming before and after the debate.

Many of the networks and local affiliates plan to stream on their YouTube channels, apps and other streaming offerings.

The Hill’s live blog on the debate will start at 6 pm EDT. Visit The Hill on YouTube.

What else: Several D.C.-area bars are planning debate watch parties with specials like Swingstate Sangria and “They’re Eating The Dogs" mini corndogs. Some of the offers are listed here via WUSA9.

On Our Watch

Veterans bus tour

Liberal veterans group VoteVets is launching a veterans bus tour, calling out Republican vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) and former President Trump.

The bus kicked off the tour in New York City, where Vance will debate the Democratic vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on CBS News Tuesday night. The bus will follow the Republican ticket into swing states.

On one side of the bus, it says "I'm a Veteran, not a sucker or a Loser." The other says “Veterans against Trump.”

— Filip Timotija

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Lawmakers press for agricultural disaster relief funds in wake of Helene

A bipartisan group of lawmakers from Southern states are calling on congressional leaders to pass federal agricultural disaster assistance, in the wake of Hurricane Helene and other recent natural disasters. In a letter dated Monday, 34 lawmakers called on party leaders to work with state officials and the Biden administration to help agricultural sectors, as farmers continue “to suffer catastrophic losses” as a result of the …

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Walz-Vance debate: Health care issues in the crossfire

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off in the first vice presidential debate on Tuesday. Health care has featured prominently in the campaign so far, and the debate could be a key opportunity for each side to press the other on their plans – and to attack the records of the candidates at the top of the opposing tickets. Vance has thrust ObamaCare back into the national conversation with …

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Around the Nation

Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:

The Odd Couple: How Ted Cruz and John Cornyn went from fractured to friendly (Texas Tribune)
Ohio Democratic Party sues over LaRose directive restricting ballot drop box access (Cleveland.com)
Local election workers in western NC take stock post-Helene (NC Newsline)

What We're Reading

Election news we've flagged from other outlets:

Coalition of the ‘Weird’ Mobilizes for Trump (Wall Street Journal)
Five Court Cases to Watch Ahead of Election Day (The New York Times)
Russia-paid influencers, trolls step up efforts to influence U.S. election (The Washington Post)

Elsewhere Today

Key stories on The Hill right now:

What it’s like in Asheville after Helene

SOUTH OF ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Buzzing chainsaws and growling generators have replaced the everyday suburban sounds of lawnmowers and birds in my neighborhood about 12 miles south of flooded parts of town. Waves of acrid smoke, from the burning of wet wood, filled the air. We woke up Sunday with no running water, but fortunately had … Read more

New book details how Austin, Texas, lost its ‘magic’ — and the larger threat its trajectory may represent

Austin’s “magic” has slipped away thanks to poorly planned development run amok, a new book argues. In “Lost in Austin,” out Tuesday, journalist Alex Hannaford details how spiking rents have sent development sprawling into the Texas city’s ecologically sensitive hinterlands — increasing traffic, sucking up the source … Read more

What People Think

Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill:

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