
Neither Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance nor Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has the national stature of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, so viewers had a chance to judge these two relatively unknown politicians for the first time, side by side, in a relatively uncontrolled setting on Oct. 1, 2024.
A lot of the post-debate analysis has centered on the candidates’ responses to questions on abortion and immigration, as well as other contentious issues like Trump’s and Vance’s refusal to recognize President Joe Biden’s 2020 win as legitimate.