VP debate in NYC: How to watch, location, what to expect

JD Vance and Tim Walz will meet today in NYC in the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 election.

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Walz, who is Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, and Vance, who is on the Republican ticket with former President Donald Trump, will make the case for their respective candidates five weeks before Election Day. 

Here’s what you need to know, including how to watch, where in NYC the debate will take place and what polls are saying about Vance and Walz.

How to watch

The CBS News Vice Presidential Debate Simulcast will be available to watch on FOX 5 (Channel 5) and our CTV app, FOX Local. Don't have the FOX Local app? Here's how you can download it.

You can also watch FOX 5's free channels on your connected TV: The Roku Channel (Channel 4101), Samsung TV Plus+ (Channel 1126), LG Channels (Channel 154), Vizio WatchFree+ (Channel 260), TCLtv+, Pluto TV, Tubi, Amazon News, Pluto TV, Freevee and Sling TV.

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FOX 5 will also air a debate pre-show, "VP Showdown NYC," at 8:30 p.m. ET, streaming live on our website, on FOX Local, and on our connected TV channels. Tune in to see what's at stake as all eyes turn to the Big Apple.

Vice presidential debate time

The debate is 90 minutes and begins at 9 p.m.

When is the VP debate? Where in NYC will the candidates be?

The debate is taking place at the CBS Broadcast Center, located on 57th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues on Manhattan's West Side.

The city has not announced specific road closures for its high-profile guests, but New Yorkers should expect tight security and tons of buzz in the area.

The candidates have not shared whether they'll make any local campaign stops after the match-up.

What issues and topics will likely take the debate stage?

Abortion rights, reproductive health care

  • Democrats believe abortion rights and reproductive health care will motivate their core voters and sway swing voters. Walz has tried to capitalize already by mixing his story into the argument. The governor talks often about how he and his wife, Gwen, required fertility treatments to have their daughter.

Economy

  • If there’s a broad topic where Vance wants to put Walz on the defensive and tether the Democratic ticket to President Joe Biden, it’s the economy. He regularly attacks the Biden-Harris administration over inflation.

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Middle-America roots

  • Expect both running mates, even as they try to keep the spotlight on their bosses, to highlight their own stories. Vance, author of the "Hillbilly Elegy" memoir, grew up poor in small-town Ohio. Walz grew up in Nebraska and was a high school teacher in Minnesota before running for office.

What are the rules for the debate?

The Associated Press reported that CBS said it would be up to Vance and Walz, not the moderators, to fact-check each other in real-time, and there won't be an audience at the event. 

Walz and Vance’s microphones will stay on while the other is speaking, unlike the two presidential debates. CBS has the choice to turn off a hot mic when needed. Walz and Vance will have two minutes for a closing statement. Vance won a virtual coin toss and will speak last, the AP noted.

In the June debate between Trump and Biden, CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash limited follow-up questions and did not fact-check either participant. 

Months later in September’s debate between Trump and Harris, ABC's David Muir and Linsey Davis interjected with matter-of-fact corrections to some of Trump's most glaring misstatements.

Will there be another presidential or vice presidential debate?

No additional presidential or vice presidential debates are scheduled, but the AP reports it could always change.

Presidential nominees typically debate with each other more than once per election cycle, but this year is different in several ways. Debates are being arranged by host networks, instead of through the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, through which debate rules were previously negotiated.

After Harris and Trump’s presidential debate on Sept. 10,  the vice president said she was open to debating the former president again. The AP reported that Harris said she would "gladly" accept an Oct. 23 invitation from CNN and hoped Trump would do the same.

Who's more popular?

The poll shows that negative feelings about Vance are considerably more widespread than positive opinions. About half of registered voters have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Vance, up from about 4 in 10 in late July, while around one-quarter have a somewhat or very favorable view of him, and a similar share don’t know enough to say.

Walz, by contrast, is better liked. About 3 in 10 voters have a negative view of Walz, while about 4 in 10 have a positive opinion and about 3 in 10 don’t know enough to say.

This article uses reporting from the Associated Press.