Vance edges Walz in overnight polling of VP debate performances

Many Americans say Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) outperformed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, according to polling from CBS News, which hosted the forum.

According to the CBS poll, 42 percent of debate watchers say Vance, a Yale-trained lawyer, won the debate. That narrowly outpaced Walz, who 41 percent of viewers said was victorious. About 17 percent said it was a tie.

The event marked one of the most civil national-level debates in recent history. There was no name-calling or personal attacks, and the men often agreed with each other and shared emotion about their children.

Nearly all, 88 percent, of those that watched the debate said the Vance-Walz face-off was generally positive, while 12 percent said it was generally negative, the survey showed.

CBS hosted the VP debate, moderated by anchors Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell, at its headquarters in New York City.

A similar survey conducted by CNN following the debate found Vance performed better on stage than Walz, but not by much. Just more than 50 percent of viewers in the survey said Vance, who is former President Trump’s running mate, did a better job, while 49 percent chose Walz as the winner.

CNN noted that viewers say Vance surprised those watching with his performance. In a survey conducted among the same voters prior to the debate, Walz held the advantage over his GOP opponent, 54 percent to 45 percent.

While many said Vance performed well, he didn’t emerge with more favorable views. Debate watchers came away with relatively neutral views of the first-term Ohio senator, with 41 percent rating him favorably and 44 percent unfavorably, according to the CNN survey.

Walz, Vice President Harris’s running mate, came away with a higher favorability rating. After the debate, 59 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the North Star State governor, which is up from 46 percent before the forum. He gained most support among women, the postdebate poll noted.

Walz spent time on stage emphasizing his and Harris’s stance on abortion and reproductive rights, while Vance attempted to appeal to the middle on the issue.  

A majority, 65 percent, of debate viewers now say Walz is qualified to serve as president if necessary, and 58 percent said the same of Vance — both candidates improving on that question from before the event, the polling shows.

In Politico’s snap poll following the debate, voters were split nearly evenly on the winner along party lines. Asked who came out on top, 72 percent of Democrats said Walz, while 71 percent of Republicans said Vance.

Among independents, 34 percent said the Democratic vice presidential nominee won, while 25 percent said his GOP opponent was the winner, the survey found.

Asked, regardless of the forum, who would make a better vice president, 92 percent of Democrats picked the Minnesota governor, while 91 percent of Republicans chose the Ohio Republican. Walz again had the advantage with independents, bringing in 44 percent who said he would make a better vice president over Vance’s 36 percent. About 20 percent said they did not know, according to the snap poll.

The CBS/YouGov poll was conducted Oct. 1 among voters who said in advance they planned to watch the debate and had a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

The CNN/SSRS poll was conducted among 574 voters who said they watched the debate and were previously recruited to participate in a SSRS survey. It has a margin of error of 5.3 percentage points.

The Politico poll was conducted among among 902 people on Oct. 1 and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.