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The vice presidential debate is slated to take place Tuesday, marking what will be the first, and possibly only, time Tim Walz and JD Vance will face each other before the election.
The highly anticipated evening event will be televised and streamed nationally, including on NBC Chicago.
The debate in New York hosted by CBS News will give Vance, a Republican freshman senator from Ohio, and Walz, a two-term Democratic governor of Minnesota, the chance to introduce themselves, make the case for their running mates, and go on the attack against the opposing ticket.
Here's what to know:
What time is the debate tonight?
The 90-minute debate starts at 8 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
It will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan of CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
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Where to watch the VP debate: Channel, streaming and more
NBC Chicago will offer a live feed of the debate both in the player above and on television beginning at 8 p.m. CT Tuesday.
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NBC News will broadcast the full debate live, and will offer extensive primetime coverage around the event.
Viewers can watch the debate live on their local NBC station or via the NBC 5 Chicago streaming channel, which is available 24/7 and free of charge across nearly every online video platform, including Peacock, YouTube, Samsung TV Plus and on smartphones and smart TVs.
Where is the debate?
The vice-presidential debate will be in New York City.
Often the scene of fundraising events for candidates in both parties, New York has been considered a reliably Democratic state in the general election. But Trump, a native New Yorker, has insisted he has a chance to put it in the Republican column this year, despite losing the state in his two earlier bids for the presidency, and has held events in the South Bronx and on Long Island.
VP debate rules: Will there be fact-checking?
CBS announced Friday that it will be up to the candidates to keep each other honest at Tuesday’s debate — a sticking point from earlier debates this year.
In the June debate between Trump and Biden, CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash limited follow-up questions and did not fact check either participant.
In the September debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis interjected with matter-of-fact corrections to some of Trump’s most glaring misstatements.
Both campaigns agreed to a 90-minute debate with two four-minute commercial breaks, according to host CBS. No audience will be present, and there will be no opening statements.
According to CBS, candidates, who will not be allowed to bring pre-written notes or props on stage, will have two minutes to answer a question and two minutes to respond. They will be allowed one minute for rebuttals.
At moderators' discretion, candidates may get an additional minute to continue a discussion, CBS said.
What to know about the candidates
Walz, the 60-year-old Minnesota governor, and Vance, a 40-year-old U.S. senator from Ohio, have previewed potential approaches for weeks. Walz, before Harris selected him, was the Democrat who coined “weird” as a go-to pejorative for the Republican ticket. Vance assails the governor’s progressive record as proof Democrats are too far left for voters.
The role of a presidential running mate is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage. Both Vance and Walz have embraced that role.
Vance's occasionally confrontational news interviews and appearances on the campaign trail have underscored why Trump picked him for the Republican ticket despite his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be “America’s Hitler.”
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Walz, meanwhile, catapulted onto Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans as “just weird,” creating an attack line for Democrats seeking to argue Republicans are disconnected from the American people.
Vance, speaking to reporters last week, said he didn’t “have to prepare that much” for the debate because he had “well-developed views on public policy.”
But Vance has been doing debate prep sessions where he’s been joined by his wife Usha Vance, Miller, senior Vance aides, and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who has played Walz, according to a person familiar with his preparations who requested anonymity to discuss strategy. Moderating their mock debates was Monica Crowley, who served in the Trump administration, hosts a podcast and contributed to Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for remaking government that Trump claims he knows " nothing about.”
Walz’s debate prep has included sessions hunkered down in a Minneapolis hotel, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg standing in for Vance, according to a person familiar with the process who requested anonymity to discuss the campaign's internal dynamics. Others helping in the preparations include Rob Friedlander and Zayn Siddique, who helped Harris prepare for her debate with Trump, along with other aides to Walz and the campaign.
Potential impacts of the debate
Tuesday's matchup could have an outsized impact.
Polls have shown Harris and Trump locked in a close contest, giving added weight to anything that can sway voters on the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It also might be the last debate of the campaign, with the Harris and Trump teams failing to agree on another meeting.
A new AP-NORC poll found that Walz is better liked than Vance, potentially giving the Republican an added challenge.
Ahead of the debate, allies of both men were lowering expectations that their candidate will have a decisive performance.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called Vance “an accomplished debater” and contrasted that with Walz, saying he was “not a lawyer-debater type.” Klobuchar said Walz spent time growing up thinking about football, not debating.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, portrayed Walz much differently than Klobuchar.
“Tim Walz is very good in debates, really good. He’s been a politician for nearly 20 years. He’ll be very well prepared for tomorrow night,” Miller told reporters Monday. He predicted the Democratic governor of Minnesota will be much more “buttoned up” than he is on the campaign trail and ready to defend his record, but added, “That’s not to say that JD Vance won’t be prepared tomorrow, or that somehow he isn’t up to the challenge.”
Klobuchar said Walz will show the American people “a real person” who brings “buoyancy” and positivity to the debate stage that will contrast with Vance, but “he is not going to be shy about pointing out the problems.”
“Just because he’s an optimistic, positive person doesn’t mean he’s a pushover,” she said.
