An “overwhelming majority” of focus group participants told CNN that they believed Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) won Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate. They reported that the Ohio Republican’s confidence and swagger were evident in the much-anticipated debate, which left Tim Walz at a disadvantage.
The virtual panel of 15 swing state voters mostly agreed that former President Donald Trump’s running mate commanded the two-hour debate. One participant called Vance “battle tested and very ready” to serve as the next vice president. “You can just see that he went to Yale,” the man told the CNN host. “He’s very intelligent, and he reassured a lot of people.” The panel, convened by pollster Frank Luntz, served as vindication that Vance’s preparations heading into Tuesday night paid off.
Another participant praised Vance for demonstrating a “strong control of the facts,” particularly during a heated exchange where he criticized Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris for infringing on Americans’ First Amendment rights by pressuring social media companies to ban or blacklist users who spoke out against pandemic lockdown mandates. “He ran the whole show,” another surmised while a third added, “He remained steady during the whole performance, and I was very impressed with him being very sincere and authentic.”
A snap poll conducted by Politico in the hours following the debate reveals that both Republicans and Democrats retreated to their respective corners when asked who won the night. CNN’s panel suggests that Vance may have performed particularly well in appealing to undecided voters who tuned into the first and only debate between the two running mates. Additionally, Walz’s struggle to maintain his composure throughout most of the night certainly didn’t help his case.
Final focus group vote tonight after the #VPDebate: 12-2 in favor of JD Vance pic.twitter.com/LgahO2za7C
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) October 2, 2024
He stumbled over basic one-liners, including an attempt to empathize with the victims of school shootings, during which the Minnesota governor awkwardly stated, “I’ve become friends with school shooters.” The father of a young woman killed in the 2018 Parkland shooting, Andrew Pollack, replied online, “My daughter was killed in the Parkland school shooting. It’s absolutely abhorrent that Tim Walz has befriended school shooters. Disqualifying.”
My daughter was killed in the Parkland school shooting. It’s absolutely abhorrent that Tim Walz has befriended school shooters. Disqualifying. https://t.co/Q0tkhmHFAi
— Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) October 2, 2024
Following President Joe Biden’s June 27th debate with Trump, a focus group shared similar antipathies about Harris’s fitness for office. Some accused her of “hiding” President Joe Biden’s mental decline in office. “She also helped keep him in where he’s at right now, and if he really is as bad as what they’ve been saying, I think if he steps down as president, and she steps into the presidency before the end of his term, it almost makes me question a little bit more why it didn’t happen sooner. She’s worked with him. She’s been, to my understanding, with him daily, or at least a couple of days a week,” one voter said then.
