by Savannah Ramirez, Staff Writer
The Vice Presidential debate took place on Oct. 1,hosted by CBS news. It covered various topics, including; reproductive rights, threats to democracy, foreign affairs, immigration, and more. Pre-election polls are showing voters’ opinions vary, with 41 percent of voters saying that Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance won, 40 percent of voters saying Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz won, and 17 percent of voters saying it was a tie, according to CBS News.
Kicking off the debate, both candidates were asked, “Would you support or oppose a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran?”. Both candidates introduced themselves and answered the question similarly; however, Vance did not mention the crisis in Gaza, while Walz did. The conflict between Palestine and Israel is a hot topic especially amongst young voters. A poll conducted by YouGov showed that 17 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 supported Israel, and 35 percent supported Palestine. However, comparing these results to voters at ages 45 to 65, illustrated a dramatic difference; 41-51 percent of voters supported Israel and about 10-8 percent supported Palestine. Given this vast difference, it shows where candidates should focus their attention especially if they want to capture a younger audience.
In terms of the threats to democracy, following the trend of previous debates, the January 6 incident came up where Vance maintained his position of downplaying what happened and then referred to the “real threat to democracy” as the censorship the Harris-Walz administration wants to put in place. Vance claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris would rather censor citizens than debate and argue with them. When asked about the same topic, Walz begins to describe what the insurrection was like and how violent it was. Vance replied to Walz but maintained the view that former President Donald Trump peacefully handed over power.
Despite the negatives, voters were quite pleased with how the debate went in terms of portraying a positive image of themself and their administration, staying focused on important topics, and maintaining a confident yet respectful attitude toward each other. Voters described their reaction as relieved as they were grateful for “a debate that wasn’t painful to watch”, according to Brookings. Some of the topics that were avoided were the rumors of Haitian immigrants eating people’s house pets in Springfield, OH, as well as staying away from Vance’s “childless cat ladies” comment. Straying away from rather less important issues was something voters appreciated. Both candidates refrained from personal attacks, focusing instead on the negatives of each other’s administrations. All around the debate was civil.
When asked about the [2024] debate, business communications major Grant Francisco, thought that Vance’s debate performance was better compared to that of Trumps.
“Vance defended his points too well and out did President Trump even though they are in the same party. It was a very well mannered debate and he out classed Trump,” he stated. This opinion is common amongst a lot of voters, although it being a very close tie, Vance did poll higher than Walz.
On the flip side; when asked about the debate, American citizen Jahn Ramirez expresses that Walz did better than Vance during the debate.
“I think Governor Walz clearly won. He was honest, humble, and a straight shooter during the debate. He served in the military, he’s a politician, he’s a football coach; he did it all. He didn’t try to skate around anything or refer or reflect. I think JD Vance lied a lot during the debate.”
The candidates performance on different topics was also sporadic. CBS news polling showed that voters feel Walz performed better in the health care and abortion topics, but Vance did better overall. When it came to the middle eastern crisis, both Vance and Walz did equally as well. Compared to previous debates, the amount of respect and civility shown by both candidates was like a breath of fresh air for voters who’ve previously described past debates as comical and unserious. During a debate there’s going to be moments where the people who bring up points do make the other look bad, however spending most of the time attacking the other side is counterproductive.
It’s an important part of any election for voters to get a good understanding of the candidates and their beliefs as well as their action plan if elected into office. This election is being called the most pivotal for the future of the nation and the American people, according to AP News. Strong candidates with leadership qualities and favorable action plans are demonstrating a stronger following; Americans want solutions, not more problems.
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