Walz agrees to Oct. 1 VP debate

Kierra Frazier
·2 min read

A vice presidential debate may be coming to fruition after all.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Wednesday publicly agreed on X to participate in a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News on Oct. 1 in New York City. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) has not committed to attending the Oct. 1 debate yet but told Fox News' Laura Ingraham late Wednesday that he "strongly" thinks he'll be at the CBS debate but has to look at the moderators and talk about the rules before he commits.

Walz’ response came after CBS News announced on Tuesday that the network proposed four dates for a debate: Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8.

It remains unclear if a vice presidential debate will take place, especially after the 2024 presidential race was upended when President Joe Biden dropped out and Vice President Kamala Harris took his place on the ticket. In May, before it was announced that Vance would be Donald Trump’s running mate, Harris agreed to a debate on either July 23 or Aug. 13. This year is the first election cycle in which the debates are not being organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

A Harris campaign official confirmed the Oct. 1 date and said that "Governor Walz looks forward to debating JD Vance — if he shows up."

Both Walz and Vance have voiced their eagerness to debate each other before the election but Tuesday marked the first time a candidate agreed to a date.

“I can’t wait to debate the guy — that is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up,” Walz said of Vance at his public introduction as the party’s nominee.

On Tuesday, Vance responded to Walz, who defended his military service following attacks from Republicans, saying that “happy to discuss more in a debate” about Walz’s military service.

Trump and Harris are scheduled to debate on Sept. 10.

Biden dropped out of the race in July following a disastrous debate performance in June where he appeared feeble and confused. The president had come under pressure from those in his party to step aside before he made his stunning decision.