Oct. 1 (UPI) — Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will square off in the only debate among the contenders for vice president Tuesday night.
CBS News is hosting the debate that starts at 9 p.m. EDT and is scheduled for 90 minutes at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
“CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan are moderating the debate.
Walz will be positioned on the left side of the stage, which will be to the right on viewing screens, and Vance on the opposite side.
The debate rules require Walz and Vance to remain behind their respective lecterns while the debate is underway with no live audience in the studio.
Because the Democratic Party is the incumbent party in the White House, O’Donnell and Brennan will introduce Walz first.
Neither Walz nor Vance will make opening statements. The mics will remain open, but CBS News has the right to mute their mics if necessary.
Neither candidate will receive questions in advance or be privy to question topics, and campaign staffers are not allowed to communicate with either candidate during breaks.
Neither candidate can use props or prepared notes while on the stage, but each has access to a pen, pad of paper and a water bottle while on stage.
When the moderators ask each a question, Walz and Vance each will have two minutes to answer it while the other will have two minutes to respond to the initial answer.
After the initial exchange, each also will be allowed one minute to provide rebuttals, which the moderators can extend by an additional minute as needed.
Each candidate will have lights in front of them and a countdown clock that indicate how much time remains to answer a question or provide rebuttals.
Moderators O’Donnell and Brennan will be seated and are the only ones who can ask questions during the debate.
Walz and Vance each will have two minutes to make closing remarks at the end of the debate.
A coin toss determined which would have the option to go first during closing remarks.
Vance won the coin toss and chose to be the last to make closing remarks.
The debate will be simulcast on C-SPAN and other news outlets.
