Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, faced off in a mostly polite yet policy-heavy vice presidential debate Tuesday night that was described by some as “midwestern nice,” but bettors and polled viewers believed the Republican candidate beat his Democratic rival.
The vice-presidential debate between Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz was a more polite affair than ... [+]
CBS News, which conducted the debate, released a snap poll of debate watchers shortly after the event, in which 42% of the respondents thought Vance won, 41% gave the edge to Walz and 17% thought it was a tie.
According to the CBS poll, both candidates received a favorability boost after the debate with Vance’s number rising from 40% to 49% while Walz jumped from 52% to 60%.
CNN also published a post-debate instant poll of viewers asking which candidate did a better job with Vance narrowly beating Walz 51-49.
The CNN poll also showed a jump in favorability for both candidates, with respondents who view Walz favorably rising from 46% to 59% while Vance’s numbers rose from 30% to 41%.
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The betting markets declared Vance the winner of the debate. On the crypto-based betting platform Polymarket, bookmakers believe Vance has a 73% chance of being judged the winner of Tuesday night’s debate in post-debate opinion polls, compared to Walz’s 27%. This is a complete inversion from before the debate, when bettors gave Walz a 70% chance of being declared the debate winner.
Bookmakers on the election betting markets gave former President Donald Trump’s chances of winning a slight boost on Tuesday, but most of the shift occurred a few hours before the debate—likely as a result of some favorable polling for the Republican in Georgia and North Carolina. Vice President Kamala Harris, however, holds a slight lead, with bookmarkers giving her a 50.3% chance of winning in November compared to 48.9%.
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