On Tuesday night, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) clobbered Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) in the vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News. Not long after, snap polls came in, with both CBS News and CNN showing that Vance bested Walz.
According to the CBS News poll, 42 percent of debate watchers said that Vance won, while 41 percent said so about Walz. Seventeen percent said it was a tie.
Shortly before midnight, CNN released the results of their own snap poll, which showed Vance leading 51-49 percent when it comes to who debate watchers thought won the debate. The poll also oversampled Democratic respondents.
CNN’s own panelists also concurred that Vance was the better debater.
Abby Phillip spoke to “a clear lack of preparation and execution here on Walz’s part,” while Dana Bash spoke to the opposite, having prepared perhaps too much. Bash also hit Walz on his lack of interviews, points that Jake Tapper agreed with as he offered “JD Vance is much more experienced.”
CNN’s Scott Jennings also shared “it’s pretty clear Vance outclassed Walz tonight,” regarding Walz in as “over his head” as he also expressed concerns about the Democrat sitting in the Situation Room as the vice president some day. “It was amazing, the split screen difference between a competent Vance and a totally in over his head Walz.”
He also offered it’s a “night of redemption” for Vance when it comes to the claims that the senator was a supposedly terrible pick, as Jennings made clear “that charade is now over.”
As Jennings summed it up, “Walz does not belong at this level of American politics, Vance does. Final verdict: Tim Walz wandered into the wrong bar tonight!”