Republican vice-presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, left in Erie, Pa., on Aug. 28, and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, speaking at the DNC in Chicago on Aug. 21.J. Scott Applewhite/gene Puskar/The Associated Press
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio are meeting Tuesday for their first and only scheduled vice-presidential debate.
Walz, who is Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris’ running mate, and Vance, who is on the Republican ticket with former president Donald Trump, will make the case for their respective candidates five weeks before Election Day. They have been criss-crossing the country to introduce themselves to voters, paying special attention to the handful of battleground states that will determine the winner.
Here’s how to watch the debate:
What time is the debate, and who will moderate it?
The 90-minute debate will start at 9 p.m. EDT on Oct. 1. It’s being moderated by Norah O’Donnell, who anchors CBS Evening News, and Margaret Brennan of CBS’s Face the Nation.
Norah O'Donnell on the new set of CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell in Washington, D.C.T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Associated Press
What channel will the debate be on in Canada?
The debate will air on CBS and several U.S. and Canadian networks will simultaneously carry the broadcast at 9 p.m. ET. Depending on your cable package, you can watch on any of the following channels:
- CBS
- CBC News Network
- ABC
- CNN
- CTV News Channel
- PBS
- NBC
- Fox Network
How can you stream the debate online?
The debate will be streamed on Paramount+ and the YouTube channels of most major news networks, including the ones mentioned above. Viewers can tune in on YouTube.com or on their mobile devices using the YouTube app.
Where is the debate happening?
The vice-presidential debate is taking place 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 Mr. 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.
Ms. Harris, meanwhile, has announced she’s skipping this year’s Al Smith dinner, a Catholic Charities benefit event held in New York City that is typically used to promote collegiality and good humour. Rather than attend the Oct. 17 gala – at which Mr. Trump will now be the sole featured speaker – Harris’s campaign said she would stump in a battleground state instead.
How are Tim Walz and J.D. Vance preparing?
Mr. Walz and Mr. Vance will meet for the first time in person on the biggest stage of their political careers. Both have been engaged in preparations for the debate with stand-ins used for their opponents.
J.D. Vance, left, speaks in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, and Tim Walz speaks in Glendale, Ariz. on Aug. 9.The Associated Press
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been playing the role of Mr. Vance in the Walz debate prep, which has been taking place at a downtown Minneapolis hotel, according to a person familiar with the preparations. The person said Mr. Buttigieg was chosen because he’s a sharp communicator, and the campaign believes that Mr. Vance will be a formidable opponent.
On the Republican side, a person familiar with Mr. Vance’s preparations said GOP Rep. Tom Emmer – who, like Mr. Walz, hails from Minnesota – will be standing in for the Democrat in a similar fashion. The people speaking about both candidates’ plans spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door preparations.
What are the rules for the debate?
CBS said Friday that it would be up to the candidates, not the moderators, to fact-check each other in real-time.
The two sides agreed that the vice-presidential candidates’ microphones will stay on while their opponent is speaking, unlike the two presidential debates. CBS says it reserves the right to shut off a hot mic when necessary. Each candidate will have two minutes for a closing statement. Mr. Vance won a virtual coin toss and will speak last.
There will be no audience.
Will there be another presidential or vice-presidential debate?
No additional presidential or vice-presidential debates are scheduled, but that could always change.
After Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump’s presidential debate on Sept. 10, Ms. Harris said she’d be open to debating the former president again. She said she would “gladly” accept an Oct. 23 invitation from CNN and hoped Mr. Trump would do the same.
Democratic presidential nominee, Vice-President Kamala Harris, walks onstage with campaign signs reading 'Vamos!'Mario Tama/Getty Images
Mr. Trump, however, has said that date, less than two weeks ahead of the November election, would be “too late.” Early voting is already under way in several states.
But that proposed timeline would be roughly in line with the last two presidential cycles. Mr. Trump’s last debate with President Joe Biden in 2020 was on Oct. 22, and the third and final debate he had with Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 occurred on Oct. 19.
Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally at Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pa., on Sept. 29.Rebecca Droke/The Associated Press
Presidential nominees typically debate each other more than once a cycle, but this year is different in several ways. Debates are being orchestrated on an ad hoc basis by host networks, as opposed to the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, through which debate rules were previously negotiated privately. Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden debated each other once this year, but Mr. Biden’s disastrous performance in that June meeting is one of the factors that led to his decision to shutter his re-election bid, making way for Ms. Harris to become the Democrats’ nominee.
With files from the Associated Press