COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will go head-to-head Tuesday night in the only scheduled debate between the candidates for vice president. The 90-minute debate starts at 9 p.m. and is being held in the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.
"The way I see the debate is, is very simple," Vance said. "It's an opportunity where for 90 minutes Governor Walz and I are going to debate the issues that matter to the American people."
For some central Ohioans, the interest in the debate is very high.
"I'd like to actually hear what they have to say, not the propaganda and all the other rhetoric you hear on the different ads," Lynne McDonald of Canal Winchester said.
"I am looking forward to watching it," Kaitlyn Evans of Clintonville said. "I really like Tim Walz. I think he just gives me so much comfort."
For others, the interest is more lukewarm.
"I wasn't going to watch but now I think I will," Mary Bowlin of Clintonville said. "I just get burned out by politics before it even happens."
"I might watch it with my friends and stuff, but for the most part I'll probably just watch it on YouTube, clips of it," Elliot Fryman of Ripley said.
Political experts say this vice presidential debate between Senator Vance and Governo Walz is more important than most VP debates.
"I think the audience is going to be bigger. There's more at stake in this one than normally because the normal pattern is you might have one VP debate and you have three between the presidential candidates," long-time Ohio Republican Strategist Terry Casey said. "This time things are very, very different."
"As far as an in-person, one-on-one confrontation about what the two tickets will do, this is the last word apparently that we're going to get," University of Dayton Political Science Professor Chris Devine said.
Casey expects more substance than the presidential debate.
"I think that people are tuning in not just to hear the typical talking points on both sides," Casey said. "They want to hear more depth. Again, my hope is it's more focused on policy."
Devine agrees. He says there was some substance in the presidential debate, but it was overshadowed by other things.
"Especially about cats and dogs," Devine said. "I don't know if we'll get that, too, here. JD Vance was at the forefront of making those kinds of claims and he stuck by Donald Trump on them."
Devine is referring to false claims amplified by former President Trump about Haitian Immigrants harming pets in Springfield.
He also says the vice-presidential candidates' debate performances can reflect on Trump and Vice President Harris.
"It's going to tell us something about their judgment," Devine said. "Did they pick someone who seems credible as a potential vice president or even president?"
Some voters 10TV talked to say the vice-presidential running mate is important to them.
"I think they need to have someone that they can work with and not just be someone that they feel they can win with," McDonald said.
You can watch the vice-presidential debate on 10TV at 9 p.m. Tuesday. It will be moderated by CBS Evening News Anchor Norah O'Donnell and Face the Nation Moderator Margaret Brennan. Then join us for the big takeaways from the debate on the 10TV News at 11.