What To Expect From The Walz-Vance VP Debate

It's a running mate debate tonight, as the vice presidential candidates meet for their first and only scheduled faceoff.

The stage is set for what will likely be the last debate of any kind between the campaigns before the election. Minnesota Governor, Democrat Tim Walz and Ohio Republican senator JD Vance will each tour the physical space before squaring off this evening, which will be a chance for voters to learn more about these relatively lesser-known VP picks.

CBS Evening News Anchor Norah O'Donnell and Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan will moderate, but they will not interrupt the debate to fact check. Instead, viewers can use a QR code that will appear on the screen.

That code will take them to a website with a live blog and live fact-checking done by CBS News.

What are some topics that are expected to be talked about tonight during this debate? Will the Iran attack be mentioned?

Caroline Cummings, CBS News: You can expect that there will be some discussion about that. It's a way for both candidates to test their foreign policy chops on this issue, and also they're going to be diving into their contrasting policy proposals and their campaigns' visions for America. So it's equal parts an introduction of these candidates to Americans who are watching, who might not be paying attention until now, with 35 days to go until election day, but they'll also have to be a surrogate for the top of the ticket. For Vance's part, it will be for former President Donald Trump, and for Harris, or excuse me for Walz, it will be Vice President Harris will try to make the case for those candidates that they are running with and why Americans should choose them. I expect to hear from Senator Vance. He'll go likely attack Governor Walz for his response to the 2020, riots in Minneapolis following George Floyd's killing. That was a big thing that he's been highlighting over the course of the last several weeks, since Walz was picked and for walls part, he has gone on cable news and on the campaign trail. He has attacked Senator Vance for his position on abortion and reproductive rights, so you should expect to see a discussion there tonight too.

What would be considered a good night for Sen. Vance or for Governor Walz?

Cummings: really, this debate is a key moment for these campaigns to get their message across. But ultimately, when it comes down to it, most Americans aren't turning out to the polls. They aren't going out to get out, getting out to vote because of who the running mate is on the ticket. So a good night for these candidates is to have a couple of, you know, sound bites that do well for the campaigns, that they can repackage on social media and make the case to voters on other platforms. But they also don't want to mess up and have a slip-up that will cause headlines for upcoming news cycles, either. So a really good night for them is they get the campaign's message across. Maybe the campaign can digest and repackage those sound bites into some more campaign content in the days to come. But they really don't want to shine a negative spotlight on the campaigns at this really critical juncture in this campaign cycle.

How likely is it that a good or a bad performance could have an impact on either presidential candidate? A lot of voters already have their minds made up. Could anything really change people's minds?

Cummings: the presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris, the polls really didn't move that much after that performance. So it goes to show how voters are really set in their opinions. So the best that these candidates can do is to not bring any sort of negativity with any headlines that come out of this debate, and just do a really effective job of continuing to sell that message to Americans of why their respective tickets ought to be sent to Washington. But you are correct that a lot of Americans' minds are made up and that very few, that small margin of Americans who are still considering it, it might not be that this debate is the be all, end all for them.

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Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance and Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz will meet for their first and only debate on Tuesday, Oct. 1, hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. 

The VP debate begins at 9 p.m. ET, and will be moderated by "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell and "Face the Nation" moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan. 

Here are the rules for the debate, as laid out by CBS News:

How will the VP debate begin and who will stand where?

Walz will stand behind the podium on stage left, which is the right side from the viewpoint of the moderators and on screen. Vance's podium will be on the opposite side. Walz and Vance are to remain behind their podiums for the duration of the debate. They will be introduced by the moderators beginning with the candidate of the incumbent party, meaning Walz will be introduced first. 

Will there be opening statements? 

There will be no opening statements.

How long will the VP debate last?

There will be 90 minutes of debate time, starting at 9 p.m. ET, with two breaks of four minutes each. 

Will there be an audience?

Like the debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in Philadelphia, there will be no audience in the studio. 

How long will candidates have to answer questions? 

For each question, the candidate who was asked the question will have two minutes to answer, and the other candidate will be allowed two minutes to respond. Following that, each candidate will have one minute for additional rebuttals. And the moderators may at their discretion give candidates an additional minute each to continue a topic.

Lights in front of each candidate will indicate how much time they have left to speak. The candidates will also each have a countdown clock.

The moderators will be seated and will be the only ones in the room permitted to ask questions. 

Closing statements

At the end, candidates will have two minutes each for closing statements. A coin toss was held on Sept. 26 to allow the winner to choose the order of closing statements. Vance won the toss, and elected to go second, so he will have the final word. 

Will mics be muted while the other candidate talks? 

CBS News reserves the right to mute the candidates' microphones, but otherwise, they will be hot.

Will candidates get questions in advance? 

Candidates will not receive any questions in advance, nor will they receive any topics in advance. 

Additionally, campaign staffers are not permitted to interact with Walz and Vance during breaks. And candidates are not allowed to have props or pre-written notes on the stage. They will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a water bottle.