The ratings are in for the vice presidential debate and they are, in a word, meh. Some 43.1 million people watched Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz face off against Sen. JD Vance on Tuesday, almost 25% fewer than watched then-Sen. Kamala Harris debate Vice President Mike Pence in 2020, per Newsweek. Granted, the 2020 VP debate was the second-most watched ever, according to Nielsen, drawing 57.9 million viewers. The most-watched VP debate came in 2008 as Joe Biden, then a senator, faced off against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, with 69.9 million tuning in.
Tuesday's ratings even fell short of the 2004 VP debate between Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John Edwards, watched by 43.6 million. And greatly short of the two presidential debates this year: The Sept. 10 debate between Harris and former President Trump was watched by 67.1 million, while the June 27 debate between Biden and Trump was watched by 51.2 million. Vice presidential debates don't usually draw the same attention as presidential debates, and Dan Balz at the Washington Post makes the case that this VP debate was overshadowed by Hurricane Helene, the dockworkers strike, and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
As for who won, that's up for debate. Viewers were evenly split in a Politico snap poll. In a CNN flash poll, 51% respondents give the win to Vance, compared to 49% for Walz. And in a CBS News poll, 42% said Vance won, 41% said Walz won, and 17% said it was a draw. A draw is probably a fair conclusion, according to University of Dayton political science professor Christopher Devine. "It's hard to really 'win' a debate these days because the electorate is so polarized and eager to believe that their party's candidate got the better of the other side," he tells Newsweek. After Tuesday, there will be "Republicans believing Vance won and Democrats believing Walz won." (More vice presidential debate stories.)
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