JD Vance won the debate, but it probably will not matter
His performance offers a clue to the future of the Republican Party
IT IS a truism that US vice-presidential debates rarely affect the electoral outcome. After Tim Walz’s lacklustre showing against JD Vance on Tuesday (Oct 1) night, Democrats will be praying that still holds.
Political betting site Polymarket gave Walz a 70 per cent chance of winning at the start of the debate. By the end, he was trading at just 33 US cents. It will be some consolation that the TV viewing numbers are likely to be far lower than the audience of almost 70 million that tuned into Kamala Harris’ encounter with Donald Trump last month.
Either way, the Vance-Walz debate was probably the last of the 2024 presidential campaign. Trump has shown no interest in agreeing to Harris’ call for a second encounter, understandable given how much blood she drew in their first.
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