Opinion - Vice-Presidential Debate Analysis

Taylor Whitaker - Staff Writer

On October 1, Tim Walz and JD Vance participated in a Vice-Presidential debate to speak on behalf of their top ticket running mates.

JD Vance showed a polished performance and directly targeted Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris on multiple occasions. He has been commended for his smooth performance, undoubtedly due to his prior law background. Vance capitalized on illegal immigration in the United States, constantly speaking about his thoughts on Harris’ view on immigration as Vice President has negatively affected the daily lives of American citizens.

His opponent, Tim Walz, seemed more nervous and focused more on reiterating Harris’ policies, while strongly criticizing Republican candidate Donald Trump’s ideas. On both sides of the aisle, voters are satisfied with their candidate's performance; however, undecided voters still show they have yet to be swayed.

“It was a more traditional debate where both candidates avoided interrupting the other and questions were focused on policy issues,” said Political Consultant and Political Science Professor Robin Johnson. "The polls show the debate had little impact on voters which is not surprising since they were candidates for Vice-President and not the top spot.”

Neither candidate focused their attention specifically on themselves but the importance of getting their running mates into the White House. As for what people wish the moderators could have done better, former Congresswoman Cheri Bustos who team-teaches a political science course with Johnson said, “As journalists, they owe it to fact check. It’s disgraceful that calling out lies is no longer standard practice for national journalists.”

Knowing how polarized our nation is, it was refreshing to see Vance and Walz exemplify civility by shaking hands at the end of their debate. “I appreciated the overall tone was civil. I think that seeing two people debate, disagree with each other, disagree with each other even on the facts, but still at the end of the day find a way to peacefully coexist. That's something I think is important to do as a community here as well,” said Political Science professor Mike Nelson.

Early voting began September 26 in Illinois, but it is not too late to register to vote. Online registration is open until October 20; however, if you miss the online deadline, you are still able to register in person before and on Election Day, November 5.

For more -information about Election Day and registration, visit www.elections.il.gov.