Topline
More than 43 million people tuned in to watch the likely only face-off between Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday night—marking a significant decline from people who tuned in to watch the last vice presidential debate in 2020 between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence.
Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), and Democratic vice presidential … [+]
Key Facts
About 43.15 million people watched Vance and Walz debate on Tuesday night across 15 networks, according to preliminary data from Nielsen.
An average of 9.1 million people tuned into CBS, which hosted the debate, followed by 7.7 million who watched on Fox News and 6.1 million who watched on ABC, according to the early Nielsen data released by Fox.
The early numbers show about a 25% decrease from the last vice presidential debate viewership in 2020, and a 36% decrease from the 67.1 million people who watched the presidential candidates debate in September.
Early data for the Harris and Pence debate in 2020 estimated about 51 million viewers tuned in, Deadline reported, and more complete data later showed an audience of 57.9 million.
Early post-debate polling from CBS found the debate increased the favorability of both Vance and Walz, and most viewers—88%—thought the debate was generally positive.
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Key Background
Monday’s debate between Vance and Walz was largely considered civil and policy-focused. The candidates touched on topics including the economy, the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, health care, the southern border and abortion rights. Microphones were only cut once in a heated exchange after the moderators fact-checked Vance and he went on a tangent about the process for applying for an asylum appointment online following a discussion about migrants in Springfield, Ohio. An early poll from after the debate showed there was no clear winner: Forty-two percent of respondents to a CBS and YouGov poll said they felt Vance won and 41% felt Walz won, while 17% said it ended in a tie.
Big Number
2.2. That’s how many points Harris is leading Trump by as of Wednesday afternoon, according to RealClearPolitics’ national polling average. FiveThirtyEight’s national average has Harris leading Trump by 2.8 points.
Tangent
Shortly after Walz and Vance’s debate ended, Trump claimed on social media the Harris campaign “just put out a request for another Debate” and suggested the Democrats are seeking a rematch because Walz “lost so badly tonight.” Trump reiterated in the post he does not plan to debate Harris a second time, adding: “Votes are already cast – And I’m leading BIG in the Polls.” Harris’ team suggested after she first debated Trump she would participate in a second debate, but did not publicly comment on Trump’s claim Tuesday night.
