Plot Synopsis

During each four-year election cycle for United States President, the candidates for major parties face-off in a series of debates in the weeks leading up to Election Day. While the presidential candidates typically engage in multiple debates, the candidates for vice president participate in a single debate. In the first vice presidential debate, Senators Walter Mondale (D-MN) and Bob Dole (R-KS) debated at the Alley Theatre in Houston, TX, on Friday, October 15, 1976, in an event televised by all three major TV networks and PBS. James Hoge, editor of "Chicago Sun-Times," moderated, while NBC's Marilyn Berger, Hal Bruno of "Newsweek," and the AP's Walter Mears served on the panel for the debate. In 1980 the vice presidential candidates did not debate, but VP candidates have once debated each other in each election cycle since 1984.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 9pm ET/6pm PT, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS and multiple cable news networks debuted a live broadcast of the only debate between candidates for U.S. Vice President in the 2024 general election. The 90-minute debate between Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance is being held at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and is moderated by CBS EVENING NEWS anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell and FACE THE NATION moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan. The two campaigns have agreed to and accepted the following debate rules:

- There will be 90 minutes of debate time, with two breaks of four minutes each.

- There will be no audience.

- The two moderators, Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan, will be seated and will be the only ones asking questions of the candidates.

- Candidates will stand behind podiums for the duration of the debate, Governor Walz on stage left/screen right and Senator Vance on stage right/screen left.

- Candidates will have two minutes for closing statements. A virtual coin toss was held on Sept. 26. Sen. Vance won and elected to go second with his closing statement.

- Candidates will be introduced by the moderators in order of incumbent party.

- No props or pre-written notes will be allowed on stage.

- No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates.

- Campaign staff may not interact with candidates during breaks.

- Candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

- Event space will be available for staff and candidate walk-throughs to be scheduled in advance.

- Lights will indicate time left, with numeric countdown: green until 15 seconds; solid yellow until five seconds; flashing red at five seconds; solid red at zero.

- CBS News reserves the right to turn off candidate microphones.

- Moderators will seek to enforce timing agreements.

- For each question, the candidate asked the question will get two minutes to answer and the other candidate will get two minutes to respond. Then, each candidate gets one minute for further rebuttals. At the discretion of the moderators, candidates may get an additional minute each to continue a discussion.