Walz Vs. Vance VP Debate Betting Odds, What Candidate Is Favored? Plus, How To Watch, Likely Topics And More

Zinger Key Points
  • J.D. Vance and Tim Walz face off in a VP debate Tuesday, Oct. 1.
  • A look at the betting odds for the debate winner and key words said by the two candidates.

With no more presidential debates planned between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the attention turns to their vice presidential running mates Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who are the candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, in the 2024 election.

The two face off in a debate Tuesday, Oct. 1. Here's a look at how to watch, what could be the big topics and who bettors are predicting will win.

How to Watch the VP Debate: Vance and Walz face off on Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. ET in a debate hosted by CBS News, a unit of Paramount Global PARAPARAA.

Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan will serve as the moderators for the debate, which takes place in New York without a live audience.

CBS News begins coverage of the debate at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and affiliate networks. The debate and coverage can also be streamed on Paramount+, CBSNews.com and YouTube. Paramount will allow simulcasting by other networks.

The debate will be 90 minutes in length with two planned four-minute commercial breaks. The candidates are not allowed to interact with their campaign teams during the commercial breaks.

Did You Know?

Debate Rules: The candidates will not give opening statements for the vice-presidential debate on Tuesday. The candidates will be given questions with two minutes to answer and then given two minutes to respond. One minute will be allowed for rebuttals, as well.

Walz will stand behind the lectern on the left side of the stage with Vance at the podium on the right side of the stage.

Candidates will not be allowed to have pre-written notes on the stage with them.

One major difference from the recent presidential debate between Harris and Trump will be microphones for the candidates that are not muted. The moderators will have the ability to turn off the microphones if warranted by CBS News.

The winner of a coin toss, Vance will go second in Tuesday's closing statements. Each candidate will have two minutes for their closing statement to end the debate.

Key Items to Watch: With less than 40 days until the Nov. 5 presidential election, Tuesday's debate could prove as a final test for undecided voters and voters who are less convinced of backing Harris or Trump.

While Harris and Trump won't be on stage, their names are likely to get brought up a lot.

In fact, one of the top betting odds from prediction market Polymarket is on how many times the candidates will utter the names Trump and Harris.

Some of the most likely items for Vance to say during the debate according to the Polymarket odds are:

  • Abortion: 93%
  • Border 5+ Times: 93%
  • Trump 20+ Times: 79%
  • Harris 15+ Times: 83%
  • Inflation: 95%
  • Helene: 80% (the recent hurricane)
  • Israel: 88%

Lower betting odds, but topics that could prove to be among the most talked about are Vance saying "tampon" at 33% and saying Haitian at 28%.

Some of the most likely items for Walz to say during the debate according to Polymarket odds are:

  • Abortion: 94%
  • Trump 20+: 73%  
  • Harris 15+: 77%
  • Coach: 69%
  • Teacher: 82%
  • Football: 68%
  • Helene: 54%
  • Israel: 83%

Polymarket shows a 95% chance that Walz and Vance shake hands before the debate.

Betting odds currently predict that Walz will win the debate based on YouGov polls with a 73% chance of winning.

Bettors can also predict how many people will watch the debate. Here are the current odds:

  • Less than 40 million viewers: 18%
  • 40 million to 45 million: 14%
  • 45 million to 50 million: 19%
  • 50 million to 55 million: 24%
  • 55 million to 60 million: 14%
  • 60 to 65 million: 8%
  • 65 million or more: 2%

For context, the presidential debate between Harris and Trump was watched by 67.1 million people on Sept. 10 and the lone vice-presidential debate between Harris and Mike Pence for the 2020 election was watched by 57.9 million people.

On Polymarket, users can deposit funds using USDC USDC/USD via the Polygon MATIC/USD network, or directly from a crypto account with Ethereum ETH/USD. In each betting market, the winning option pays out at $1.

While Trump and Harris won't take part in the debate, they could see their betting odds change after the debate. Harris currently leads at sportsbook Bet365 with odds of -125 to Trump's +100. At Polymarket, Harris has a 50% chance of winning the 2024 election compared to 49% for Trump.

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Photos: Shutterstock

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