Five weeks from election day, VP candidates meet for first and only debate

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - We’re just 35 days out from Election Day, and on Tuesday night the vice presidential candidates, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, take to the debate stage.

CBS News is hosting the debate with moderation from Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan. Vance is a Republican senator from Ohio first elected to office two years ago, while Walz is a former Congressman and current governor of Minnesota.

We spoke with Dr. Russell Arben Fox, a political science professor at Friends University. He said J.D. Vance has more at stake in Tuesday’s debate.

“If Walz comes out and has a good debate and Vance doesn’t, that’s probably going to reflect upon Trump in a way that a defeat of Walz might not quite as much reflect on Harris,” Fox said. “There are maybe more stakes on the Republican side because Vance has already given the American people so much to work with.”

A CBS News poll conducted last week said a majority of registered voters don’t think either VP candidate is qualified to become president. Voters say they’re mostly interested in hearing the candidates discuss the issues instead of attacking each other.

Live coverage of the debate begins at 7 p.m. on KWCH. It’s expected to last about an hour and a half.

If you’re not able to tune in, we’ll bring you comments from both candidates from both candidates Tuesday night on 12 News at Ten.