CBS News VP debate poll shows voter reactions to 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.

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