Vance edges Walz in overnight polling of VP debate performances

Many Americans say Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) outperformed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) during Tuesday night's vice presidential debate, according to polling from CBS News, which hosted the forum.

According to the CBS poll, 42 percent of debate watchers say Vance, a Yale-trained lawyer, won the debate. Walz trails closely behind with 41 percent of viewers saying he was victorious. About 17 percent said it was a tie.

The event marked one of the most civil national-level debates in recent history. There was no name-calling or personal attacks, and the men often agreed with one another and shared emotion about their children.

Nearly all, 88 percent, of those that watched the debate said the Vance-Walz face-off was generally positive, while 12 percent said it was generally negative, the survey showed.

CBS hosted the VP debate, moderated by anchors Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell, at its headquarters in New York City

A similar survey conducted by CNN following the debate found Vance performed better on stage than Walz, but not by much. Just over 50 percent of viewers in the survey said Vance, who is former President Trump's running mate, did a better job while 49 percent chose Walz.

CNN noted that viewers say Vance surprised those watching with his performance. In a survey conducted among the same voters prior to the debate, Walz held the advantage over his GOP opponent by 54 percent to 45 percent.

While many said Vance performed well, he didn’t emerge with more favorable views. Debate watchers came away with relatively neutral views of the freshman Ohio senator, with 41 percent rating him favorably and 44 percent unfavorably, according to the CNN survey.

Walz, Vice President Harris's running mate, came away with a higher favorability rating. After the debate, 59 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the North Star State governor, which is up from 46 percent before the forum. He gained most support among women, the post-debate poll noted.

Walz spent time on stage emphasizing his and Harris’s stance on abortion and reproductive rights, while Vance attempted to appeal to the middle on the issue.  

A majority, 65 percent, of debate viewers now say Walz is qualified to serve as president if necessary and 58 percent said the same of Vance, both candidates improving on that question from before the event, the polling shows.

The CBS/YouGov poll was conducted Oct. 1 among voters who said in advance they planned to watch the debate and had a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

The CNN/SSRS poll was conducted among 574 voters who said they watched the debate and were previously recruited to participate in a SSRS survey. It has a margin of error of 5.3 percentage points.