Who won the VP debate? Here's what polls say

WASHINGTON - In what may be the last debate of the 2024 race, vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz met on stage Tuesday night in New York City and engaged in a policy-heavy discussion while criticizing their opponents at the top of the ticket. 

The debate between Minnesota’s Democratic governor and Ohio’s Republican senator came just five weeks before Election Day, and followed a debate in August between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Walz, 60, and Vance, 40, outlined the policy and character differences between their running mates, while trying to introduce themselves to the country in a largely civil exchange. The debate also played out as the deadly Hurricane Helene ravaged the U.S. Southeast, a strike shut down ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coast, and Iran fired missiles at Israel.  

Walz promised "steady leadership" under Harris while Vance pledged a return to "peace through strength" if Trump is returned to the White House.

Walz pointedly attacked Trump for failing to meet his pledge of building a physical barrier across the entire U.S.-Mexico border at the country’s southern neighbor’s expense.

"Less than 2% of that wall got built and Mexico didn’t pay a dime," Walz said.

Underscoring the focus on the top of the ticket, during a back-and-forth about immigration, Vance said to his opponent, "I think that you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does."

Who won the VP debate?

KTVU FOX 2 in San Francisco asked viewers who they think won the vice presidential debate, and 51% felt Vance performed better, compared to 49% for Walz.

A poll by CBS News, which hosted the debate, posed the same question: 42% said Vance won the debate, while 41% thought Walz had the better showing. Seventeen percent felt it was a tie.

A POLITICO/Focaldata snap poll of likely voters conducted just after the two faced off found no decisive winner in the first-and-only VP debate. It found that Democrats overwhelmingly sided with Walz as the winner, while Republicans picked Vance. Among independents, 58% sided with Walz while 42% said Vance performed better. 

The POLITICO snap poll also found that younger people, particularly those ages 25-34, those with college degrees, and Black and Latino respondents, gave Walz the strongest ratings. Vance performed the best among people over the age of 55, White voters and those without a college degree, according to the poll.

CNN’s Instant Poll conducted by SSRS had similar results with no clear winner in the VP debate. Following the showdown, 51% of debate watchers said that Vance did the better job, with 49% thought Walz did, the poll found. 

Will the VP debate sway your vote in the 2024 election?

LiveNOW from FOX asked viewers if the vice presidential debate would sway their decision at the ballot box. Eighty-four percent said no, 14% said yes, and 2% said they were undecided. 

FOX 5 DC also asked viewers this question, and 93% voted no and 7% said yes. 

What topic was most important in the VP debate?

FOX 10 Phoenix asked debate watchers what topic was most important for them to hear discussed during the debate, and 59% answered democracy, followed by 23% who said immigration, and 18% chose the economy.