Oct 1, 2024

The PCI gathered almost 500 people from universities across the country in virtual debate watches to study the vice-presidential debate between Republican candidate JD Vance and Democratic candidate Tim Walz. Over 372 people completed the study from 12 states, including students from the University of Akron, the University of Alabama, the University of Arkansas, the University of Indiana, Iowa State University, the University of Kansas, Lewis & Clark College, the University of Louisville, Marquette University, the University of Missouri, Missouri State University, Morehead State University, Oregon State University, Penn State University, and Salisbury University.

PCI Director Ben Warner said that vice-presidential debates can be more consequential that people often assume. “I think these debates may be underrated. Research shows that they can help people reach a vote decision, and that viewers use them to make inferences about the judgment of the presidential campaign and the readiness of the vice-presidential candidate to take over as president in the event of a tragedy.” 

Participants answered a survey about where they stand on the election immediately prior to watching the debate, then viewed the live debate via Zoom with the PCI research team. After the debate, they were invited to complete a post-debate questionnaire asking them to evaluate how candidates performed and to update their responses to pre-debate questions. 

The results showed that 14% of participants were undecided about who to vote for before the debate, and 6% of participants moved from undecided to supporting a candidate after viewing the debate. 

Research on vice-presidential debates suggests that people primarily view these debates as a tool to learn about the vice-presidential candidates in relation to the candidates. The data showed that Walz improved modestly across the board, while Vance experienced large jumps in overall scores in most categories, suggesting that people gained the information from the debate that they wanted to gain.