WASHINGTON − Ohio Sen. JD Vance , a Cincinnati resident and Middletown native, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz square off Tuesday night in New York City with more on the line than the typical vice presidential debate as the two nominees from different Midwestern states look to seize on what could be the last marquee event before Election Day.
Vice presidential candidates and their debates don’t usually move the political needle much. But Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s refusal to debate Democratic rival Kamala Harris again makes the Vance-Walz showdown likely the final time the two campaigns battle each other on the same stage before a nationally televised audience.
The faceoff hosted by CBS comes 35 days before the election with Harris and Trump locked in a razor-close race that appears likely to be decided by the outcomes of seven battleground states : Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
A New York Times poll released this week shows Ohio is likely in Trump’s column for the third time. He is leading Harris by six points in the Buckeye State.