In the first – and probably only – vice presidential debate between Tim Walz And J.D. Vancevoters watching Tuesday night said it was close even matchand an overwhelming majority found the tone of the debate positive.

Immediately after the debate, CBS News surveyed voters across the country who said they were watching it to get their reaction.

Who won the debate: Vance or Walz?

Forty-two percent of debate viewers said Vance won the debate, while 41% thought Walz came out on top. Seventeen percent called the debate a draw.

Debate watchers were somewhat more Democratic in their party affiliation than voters nationwide. On the way to the debateDemocrats were more enthusiastic about Walz than Republicans were about Vance, which may explain the Democratic bias of tonight’s audience.

Both candidates sounded “reasonable” to the majority of debate viewers tonight, rather than “extreme.”

And both candidates won majorities and said they are ready to become U.S. president if necessary. Most partisans believed that only their party’s VP candidate is willing, while most independents said both are.

Vance and Walz on the issues

The candidates were seen as evenly matched on some of the issues raised during the debate, including the economy and the conflict in the Middle East. Walz was seen as better at talking about health care and abortion, while Vance had an edge on immigration.

Opinions of Vance and Walz after the debate

Both candidates improved their overall images with voters from before the debate. More debate viewers had a net negative view of Vance before the debate, but slightly more people had a favorable view of him than an unfavorable view of him after the debate.

While viewers felt the overall tone of the debate was positive, Vance was seen spending more time attacking Kamala Harris and Tim Walz than explaining his own opinion. More voters thought Walz spent most of his time explaining his positions.

This CBS News/YouGov survey is based on 1,630 interviews with likely voters who reported watching the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. Respondents were previously interviewed between September 27 and 30, 2024 to indicate whether they planned to watch the debate, and whether they were willing to be interviewed again after the debate. The margin of error is +/- 2.7 points.

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