CBS News
CBS News VP debate poll shows voter reactions to tonight’s Vance-Walz showdown
In the first — and likely only — vice-presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance, voters who watched Tuesday night said it was an almost even match, and an overwhelming majority felt the tone of the debate was positive.
Immediately following the debate, CBS News surveyed voters nationwide who reported watching it in order to get their reaction.
Who won the debate — Vance or Walz?
Forty-two percent of debate watchers said Vance won the debate, while 41% thought Walz emerged as the winner. Seventeen percent called the debate a tie.
Debate watchers were a bit more Democratic in their party affiliation than voters nationwide. Heading into the debate, Democrats were more enthusiastic about Walz than Republicans were about Vance, perhaps explaining the Democratic lean of tonight’s audience.
Both candidates sounded “reasonable” tonight to majorities of debate watchers, rather than “extreme.”
And both candidates drew majorities saying they are prepared to be U.S. president, should that become necessary. Most partisans felt only their party’s VP nominee is prepared, while most independents said both are.
Vance and Walz on the issues
The candidates were seen as even on some of the issues that came up at the debate, including the economy and the conflict in the Middle East. Walz was seen as better at talking about health care and abortion, while Vance had the edge on immigration.
Opinions of Vance and Walz after the debate
Both candidates improved their overall image with voters from before the debate. More debate watchers had a net-negative view of Vance before the debate, but after the debate, slightly more had a favorable view of him than an unfavorable one.
While watchers felt the overall tone of the debate was positive, Vance was seen as spending more time attacking Kamala Harris and Tim Walz than explaining his own views. More voters thought Walz spent most of his time explaining his views.
This CBS News/YouGov survey is based on 1,630 interviews of likely voters who reported watching the vice-presidential debate on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. Respondents were previously interviewed between September 27-30, 2024 to indicate whether they planned to watch the debate, and if they were willing to be re-interviewed after the debate. The margin of error is +/- 2.7 points.
CBS News
Missed the VP debate last night? Watch a full replay of the Vance-Walz showdown here
For more than 90 minutes on live TV, the 2024 vice presidential nominees, Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, sparred over a wide range of issues in the first and only VP debate of the campaign, hosted by CBS News. If you missed the debate Tuesday night, you can watch a replay of the full broadcast in the video player above.
The two candidates faced questions from moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan about the economy, immigration, abortion rights, the conflict in the Middle East, climate change, health care, housing costs and more — and offered sometimes sharply different visions for the nation’s future.
Immediately following the debate, CBS News surveyed voters nationwide who reported watching it in order to get their reaction. They were almost evenly divided over who they thought won — 42% said Vance and 41% said Walz, while 17% considered it a tie. A large majority, 88%, said they thought the tone of the debate was generally positive.
CBS News
6 highlights from the Walz-Vance VP debate
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Highlights from JD Vance-Tim Walz vice presidential debate
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