What are the rules, how to watch and when to tune in for the VP debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance will go head-to-head on Tuesday in the first — and most likely the only — vice presidential debate before the election on November 5.

Tuesday’s highly anticipated debate between the two running mates is expected to bring fireworks as the Midwesterners have been duking it out on the campaign trail.

Vance has attacked Walz’s military record, claiming the Minnesota Governor dodged deployment to Iraq, while Walz has questioned Vance’s background, highlighting that the Ohio Senator is a Yale graduate who palled around with “Silicon Valley billionaires” while writing a bestseller about his “hillbilly” roots.

Here’s all you need to know about the vice presidential debate.

The 90-minute debate will begin at 9pm (Eastern Time) on CBS on October 1. It will be moderated by CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan.

The CBS debate will not have a live audience, according to the network, and will be filmed in New York City.

When asked a question, the candidate will have two minutes to respond. Then, the other candidate will be given two minutes to give his response. Both will then be given one minute for a rebuttal.

While there will not be opening statements, each candidate has two minutes to provide a closing statement. Walz will go first followed by Vance, who won a September 26 coin toss and opted to close out the program.

Unlike the ABC News presidential debate on September 10 between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris - where the candidates’ mics were muted between responses - Vance and Walz’s mics will be hot, increasing the potential for some zinger lines.

CBS said that the running mates will not receive the questions in advance. After the presidential debate, Trump alleged that Harris was given the questions before the debate, in an apparent attempt to undermine her widely-praised performance. ABC News rejected Trump’s claim.

The vice presidential debate comes 34 days before the November election.

About 75 per cent of Americans are planning to watch the debate, according to polling from Prolific for The Independent, while two-thirds of Democrats believe the vice-presidential candidate has a significant impact on the overall presidential ticket.

Viewers can watch the debate on CBS News, its affiliate stations, the network’s app, CBSNews.com, Paramount+, and YouTube.