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Walz-Vance debate updates: VP candidates tangle on abortion, immigration and Jan. 6

Walz and Vance squared off for the first and only time this election cycle.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, Brittany Gaddy, and Tal Axelrod
Last Updated: October 1, 2024, 11:54 PM EDT

Vice presidential candidates Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance squared off for the first and only time this election season.

Unlike the last two presidential debates, the candidates appeared to be more cordial. However, both running mates criticized the presidential candidates on a host of issues including gun violence, reproductive rights, immigration and climate change.

Walz appeared to have nerves in the opening of debate, but went on the attack as the night went on. Vance took aim at Harris and her policies and pushed Trump's policies.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing:
Oct 01, 2024, 9:13 PM EDT

Candidates pressed on Iran attack on Israel

Both candidates were pressed in the first question on whether they'd support a preemptive Israeli strike on Iran if it was determined that Tehran had secured a nuclear weapon.

Walz started off shaky, at one point confusing Israel and Iran but declaring that Harris would provide "steady leadership" while noting that at the first presidential debate, "80-year-old Donald Trump" was "talking about crowd sizes."

Vance began by rattling off his biography before saying that "Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world" by creating "deterrence" and "peace through strength."

The Dome of the Rock on the Al-Aqsa compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount is seen as projectiles fly through the sky, after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel, as seen from Jerusalem Oct. 1, 2024.
Jamal Awad/Reuters

Walz responded that Trump's "fickle leadership" helped Iran get near a weapon by backing out of a U.S.-led nuclear deal and that "we need the steady leadership that Kamala Harris is providing."

Oct 01, 2024, 9:04 PM EDT

Walz, Vance shake hands before debate begins

Walz and Vance shook hands before the debate started.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz shake hands at the start of the Vice Presidential debate in New York City, Oct. 1, 2024.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

There was no handshake during the last vice presidential debate because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oct 01, 2024, 9:02 PM EDT

Candidates take the stage

Vance and Walz started at their podiums for tonight's debate, so far the only scheduled matchup between the two vice presidential nominees.

Oct 01, 2024, 8:57 PM EDT

Tonight’s viewers have largely already made up their mind

Debates are big deals, and it’s tempting to treat tonight like a potential game-changer in the campaign. But the reality is, most people who are planning to watch tonight aren’t still candidate-shopping. A YouGov/CBS News poll from late last week asked people who were planning to watch the debate why they were planning to do so; 71% said to root for their party’s candidate and 61% said to see if the other side made a mistake. Only 24% said to help them decide who to vote for.

—538’s Nathaniel Rakich