5 takeaways from the vice presidential debate

The debate was surprisingly civil

Throughout the evening, Vance, R-Ohio, and Walz took pains to note areas where they agreed. Their appeal to the center showed how both campaigns want to win over a small group of undecided and independent voters in November.

“Governor. Walz and I probably agree that we need to do better in this area, the question is how do we actually get there,” Vance said during an exchange on how to reduce gun violence in schools Vance proposed fortifying schools with stronger windows and doors, while Walz suggested using Finland as a model as a nation with high rates of gun ownership and low rates of gun violence. .

At another point, Walz sought to find common ground with Vance on the cost of child care.

“I don’t think Senator Vance and I are that far apart,” Walz said.

Fact-checking on the network has been kept to a minimum

CBS News moderators intentionally avoided adding fact-checks during the debate, choosing instead to allow candidates to fact-check each other.

The moderators intervened, however, when the conversation turned to immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio. Vance said on stage that schools, hospitals and the housing market there are “overwhelmed” by illegal immigrants.

“Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio, has a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status,” moderator Margaret Brennan said.

Vance was quick to remind the audience that moderators had agreed to keep fact-checking to a minimum.

“The rules were you weren’t going to check the facts,” Vance said. “Since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s really happening.”

Walz posted his own fact-check during another immigration exchange, noting that he would do so rather than rely on moderators.

“I guess we agreed not to check the facts. I’ll check it out,” Walz said.

Vice-presidential candidates’ microphones cut off during exchange on immigration

New CBS moderators cut off vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during their debate.

Arizona, a swing state, gets two nods in debate night

Vance dropped Arizona’s name when the debate turned to the issue of abortion. Vance and Trump are campaigning for abortion laws at the state level rather than the federal level.

“We have a big country and it’s diverse,” he said. “California has a different view than Georgia on this topic. Georgia has a different view than Arizona.”

Reproductive rights are a priority in the Grand Canyon State this election season. A proposal to amend the Arizona Constitution to protect access to abortion will appear on voters’ ballots in November. The issue is expected to work in favor of Democrats this year, amid restrictions on abortion led by the Republican Party.

Later, Walz mentioned the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as he reminded viewers of Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act near the beginning of Trump’s term.

Trump often promised to dismantle the law during his 2016 campaign.

“He would have repealed the ACA if not for John McCain’s courage to save that bill,” Walz said.

McCain torpedoed the repeal effort, securing his deciding vote with a dramatic rejection. He argued at the time that the reform would have undone provisions of the ACA that he disagreed with, but would not have created a suitable alternative.

McCain and Trump regularly exchanged barbs after Trump announced his candidacy for president in 2015. The feud began when McCain took issue with Trump’s comments calling immigrants from Mexico “rapists” and “criminals.”

The situation intensified when Trump mocked McCain’s record as a prisoner of war, saying McCain was “a war hero because he was captured” and that he loved “people who ‘were not captured’. The North Vietnamese held McCain as a prisoner of war for more than five years.

Aided by the support of McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, Biden won Arizona in the 2020 presidential election, in part because Trump underperformed in traditionally Republican areas of Maricopa County.

Immigration remains a major theme in the 2024 election

The topic of immigration came up during the first 17 minutes of the debate, and Vance sought to bring the conversation back to immigration even when other issues were on the table.

Vance said Harris “opened the floodgates” by repealing many of Trump’s policies, like the Migrant Protection Protocols also known as “Remain in Mexico.” He said the Trump administration would continue to build a border wall and expand expulsions, particularly by targeting migrants with criminal records.

For his part, Walz highlighted Harris’ experience prosecuting border-related crimes as California state attorney general. He blamed Trump for undermining a bipartisan border deal earlier this year, a frequent refrain from Harris on the campaign trail.

“That’s what happens when you don’t want to solve the problem, you demonize it,” Walz said.

Vance defended his remarks, saying unregulated migration led to huge problems in small communities.

“The people I’m most concerned about are American citizens,” Vance said.

Both candidates are trying to appeal to middle-class voters

The first reference to economic issues came in response to a question from moderators about Hurricane Helen and climate change. Walz said the nation has become an energy superpower, with increased clean energy production as a cornerstone.

Vance, however, criticized Chinese-made solar panel components and called for more investment in natural gas.

Later, moderators asked the candidates how to prevent their programs from worsening the federal deficit.

Walz praised Harris’ policies, which he said are designed to help middle-class families. For example, he cited his proposal to approve new down payment assistance for first-time home buyers, an expanded child tax credit and a substantial increase in tax credits to help small businesses.

Vance countered that the Biden-Harris administration has harmed middle-class households and others by stoking inflation, driving up food prices by 25% and housing prices by 60%.

Trump’s tenure as president, Vance said, was marked by low inflation, averaging 1.5 percent a year, and higher taxes on workers. Vance also praised the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which he said sparked an economic boom.

“It’s a matter of common sense,” Vance said.

Walz described Trump’s tax legislation as a set of measures that gave benefits to millionaires, including Trump himself. The tax legislation passed in 2017 is set to expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress and the next president approve its continuation.

Reporters Rafael Carranza, Stephanie Innes and Russ Wiles contributed to this story.