Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance on Thursday agreed to take part in a vice presidential debate with Democrat Tim Walz on Oct. 1 hosted by CBS News, meaning both parties are now on board with facing off.
Vance also accepted a proposed second VP debate on Sept. 18 on CNN, but Democrats have not yet agreed to that.
“The American people deserve as many debates as possible,” Vance tweeted in a response to Walz’s post challenging him. “Not only do I accept the CBS debate on October 1st, I accept the CNN debate on September 18th as well.”
The deal means Americans can expect to see at least one presidential and one vice presidential debate before Election Day.
Kamala Harris and former President Trump have both agreed to a Sept. 10 presidential debate on ABC. Trump says he wants two other debates, but Harris says she will only discuss that after the first clash.
Until now, it was very much in question whether Walz and Vance would debate before the Nov. 5 general election in part because Democrats reshuffled their ticket when President Biden stepped down and handed the baton to Harris.
The presumptive Democratic nominee picked Walz last week, setting the tickets that will face off in November.
Walz has made waves by denouncing Trump and Vance as “weird,” especially their opposition to abortion rights and Vance’s statements that childless Americans have less of a stake in the country than parents.
Vance has countered by attacking Walz’s statements about his record of 24 years of service in the Army National Guard.
With News Wire Services
