Tim Walz and JD Vance will meet in their first and possibly only vice presidential debate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tim Walz and JD Vance will meet for their first and possibly only vice presidential debate on Tuesday, in what could be the last debate for both campaigns to make their case before the election.

The debate in New York, moderated by CBS News, will give Vance, a freshman Republican senator from Ohio, and Walz, a two-term Democratic governor of Minnesota, a chance to introduce themselves, make the case for their running mate and continue the attack against the opposing ticket.

Tuesday’s game could have an outsized impact. Polls have shown Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in a tight contest that gives added weight to everything that can sway marginal voters, including the impression made by the vice presidential candidates. It could also be the last debate of the campaign, as the Harris and Trump teams cannot agree on another meeting.

A vice presidential candidate’s role is typically to act as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket and to argue on stage against the opposing presidential candidate and his surrogate. Both Vance and Walz have accepted this role.

Vance’s occasionally confrontational news interviews and campaign appearances have underscored why Trump chose him for the Republican nomination, even though he has made biting criticisms of the former president in the past, including once suggesting that Trump was “America’s Hitler.”

Walz, meanwhile, catapulted himself into Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and the Republicans as “just weird,” creating a line of attack for Democrats who wanted to argue that Republicans are out of touch with the American people.

A new AP-NORC poll found Walz is more popular than Vance, potentially posing an additional challenge for the Republican.

After a Harris-Trump debate in which Republicans complained that ABC News anchors were fact-checking Trump, there will be no corrections from hosts in Tuesday’s debate. CBS News said the responsibility for pointing out false statements falls to the candidates, with anchors “facilitating these opportunities.”

Ahead of the debate, allies of both men lowered expectations that their candidate would deliver a decisive performance.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called Vance “an accomplished debater” and compared it to Walz, saying he’s “not a lawyer-debater guy.” Klobuchar said Walz spent his time as a child thinking about football, not debating it.

Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, portrayed Walz very differently than Klobuchar.

“Tim Walz is very good at debates, really good. He has been a politician for almost 20 years. He will be very well prepared for tomorrow night,” Miller told reporters on Monday. He predicted that Minnesota’s Democratic governor will be much more “buttoned up” than he was on the campaign trail and ready to defend his record, but added: “That doesn’t mean JD Vance won’t be prepared tomorrow, or that somehow.” he’s not up to the challenge.”

Vance said in a call with reporters last week that he didn’t need to “prepare as much for the debate” because he had “well-developed views on public policy.”

But Vance has held debate preparation sessions that included his wife, Usha Vance, Miller, senior Vance aides and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who played Walz, according to a person familiar with his preparations who requested anonymity. to discuss strategy. Their mock debates were moderated by Monica Crowley, who served in the Trump administration, hosted a podcast and contributed to Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for remaking government that Trump claims he knows “nothing about.”

“JD Vance is ready to wipe the floor with Tim Walz and expose him for the radical liberal that he is,” Emmer told reporters Monday.

Walz’s preparation for the debate included meetings at a Minneapolis hotel with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg filling in for Vance, according to a person familiar with the process who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the campaign’s internal dynamics. Others helping with the preparations include Rob Friedlander and Zayn Siddique, who helped Harris prepare for her debate with Trump, as well as other aides to Walz and the campaign.

Klobuchar said Walz will show the American people “a real person” who brings “liveliness” and positivity to the debate stage that contrasts with Vance, but “he won’t be afraid to point out the problems.”

“Just because he’s an optimistic, positive person doesn’t mean he’s a pushover,” she said.

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Josh Boak in Baltimore and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.