The 2024 vice presidential debate between Democratic nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Republican nominee Ohio Senator J.D. Vance drew considerable attention, though not as much as in previous election years. Broadcast live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on October 1, the debate garnered an estimated 43.15 million viewers across 15 networks, according to Nielsen.
While the debate attracted a significant audience, it marked a 25.5% drop from the 2020 vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, which drew 57.92 million viewers. Of the total audience, 30 million households tuned in, with nearly 30 million viewers aged 55 and older.
For comparison’s sake, approximately 67 million viewers watched the recent presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, surpassing the 51.3 million viewers who tuned in for the Biden-Trump debate earlier this year.
CBS News, which produced the debate, led network ratings with 9.57 million viewers. Fox News followed with 7.93 million, while ABC attracted 6.35 million viewers, NBC pulled in 5.67 million, and MSNBC reached 4.88 million. CNN and the Fox broadcast network added 3.37 million and 2.48 million viewers, respectively.
Smaller outlets like Merit Street Media, Scripps News, and Newsmax contributed to the overall audience count, but the total viewership still fell below the historical average of 46.5 million for vice presidential debates. The highest-rated vice presidential debate remains the 2008 Biden-Palin matchup, which attracted 69.9 million viewers.
A CBS News/YouGov poll surveyed 1,630 likely voters who watched the debate, discovering the outcome was split fairly cleanly. 42% said Vance won, while 41% favored Walz. 17% called it a tie. The debate was seen as positive in tone, and both candidates were viewed as “reasonable” rather than “extreme” by most viewers.
On key issues, Walz was seen as stronger on health care and abortion, while Vance had the edge on immigration. Both were viewed equally on the economy and the conflict in the Middle East. After the debate, both candidates improved their overall image with voters.
