Vance's Performance During the VP Debate

Ryan Heshmati

October 04, 2024

Tuesday, Vice Presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz faced off in what very well could have been the final debate of the 2024 election cycle. A CNN instant poll found 51% of those surveyed believed Vance had won, while 49% said Walz was the victor. Of course, the Harris campaign would likely argue Walz won, but, ultimately, it was JD Vance who beat the expectations of many in delivering a polished and powerful performance. The race is extremely close and any event, especially one where two rival picks for second in command square off, could tip the scales.

Vance had a difficult task going into the night. He is not particularly popular and exciting voters, considering that reality, along with what some might argue was a poor performance from Trump in his last debate, was a tall order. Molly Ball of The Wall Street Journal asserted that “... overall, Vance proved a glib and effective messenger, and his seeming ease at making the case for an imaginary version of Trump highlighted how successful a candidate without Trump’s temperamental liabilities might be.” In other words, Ball argues, Vance, at least in large part, followed through. Positive moments for Vance included his line on abortion that, “... my party, we’ve got to do so much of a better job at earning the American people’s trust back on this issue… ” With his response on abortion, Vance effectively articulated a more moderate abortion stance for the Republican party, working damage control on an issue that has become increasingly politically problematic for them ever since the objective of overturning Roe v. Wade became a reality with the Dobbs decision. 

Regarding the economy, Vance went on the offensive in criticizing Walz and his running mate, saying, “... you’ve got to play whack a mole. You’ve got to pretend Donald Trump didn’t deliver rising take home pay… lower inflation, which of course he did. And then you’ve simultaneously got to defend Kamala Harris’ atrocious economic record…” Additionally, on foreign policy, Vance blamed current global conflicts on the Biden-Harris administration, pointing out that many of the current conflicts did not exist when Former President Trump left office.

However, in an extremely weak moment for Vance, one that reminded voters of the serious problems that can come with a Trump ticket, he responded to a question on whether President Biden won the 2020 election with the dodge that, “Tim, I’m focused on the future…” to which Walz responded, “That is a damning non-answer.” For all Walz’s nervousness during the debate, this exchange marked a huge victory for the Democrats in portraying the 2024 Republican ticket as one tainted by the same election-denying that gave rise to radical extremists attacking the Capitol on January 6th.

Vance outperformed Walz for most of the night. Fortunately for the Harris campaign, Walz’s “damning non-answer” remark helped balance back the scales. Nevertheless, Vance made headway for Republicans on abortion and launched powerful attacks towards Harris for the economy and foreign policy. With a race so close, and with so little time until the finish line, the debate did not disappoint in bringing the rival tickets together for a final matchup. Only time will tell whether it made a difference.