Tim Walz and JD Vance to square off in US vice presidential debate

CBS News says moderators will not fact check first and only debate between two nominees

Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance. AFP

US voters on Tuesday will have their first and only chance to see a debate between the two nominees for vice president, Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance.

The face-off in New York comes weeks before the November 5 election and is expected to be tense. The candidates have sharply criticised each other in an election cycle that has raised existential questions about US democracy.

CBS News announced moderators would not fact check the debate in real time, a similar approach to that of CNN during the debate between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump, the aftermath of which eventually ended Mr Biden's campaign for re-election.

Both vice presidential candidates are veterans of the US military, and both have been tasked with bringing a Midwestern American appeal to their coastal running mates' tickets. Vice President Kamala Harris is from San Francisco and Mr Trump is from New York.

Mr Vance, a policy wonk and bulwark of right-wing ideology on Capitol Hill, appears to be entering the debate with more to defend – and perhaps more to gain. An Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research survey released this month found that about half of registered voters have a somewhat or very unfavourable view of Mr Vance, compared to only three in 10 voters who say they have a negative view of Mr Walz.

More recently, polls published by FiveThirtyEight show the Ohio senator with a substantial disapproval rating at over 45 per cent. Mr Walz polls with more support, at 40 per cent approval.

In recent weeks, Mr Vance has amplified his running mate's anti-migrant talking points, promoting debunked, racist claims about Ohio's Haitian migrant population eating their neighbours' pets. He has also faced controversy after refusing to apologise for past comments in which he claimed the US is run by “childless cat ladies”.

Mr Walz, for his part, has helped lead the Democratic charge that Mr Vance and the Republicans are “weird”, a term he coined and that has drawn viral appeal. The Minnesota Democrat was in part selected because of state-level progressive policy victories during his term as governor, including expanding reproductive healthcare protections and implementing universal free school meals.

However, he has come under fire for his response to riots in Minneapolis following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and for the state's response to the Covid-19 pandemic that unfolded that same year. Republicans, including Mr Vance, have accused Mr Walz of abandoning his battalion in the Minnesota National Guard before they were deployed to Iraq in 2005. The National Guard has refuted these claims.

Ms Harris and Mr Trump debated on September 10. The Vice President has agreed to a second debate on October 23, but the former president has so far refused.