When two of his Republican rivals for an Ohio Senate seat nearly came to blows on live statewide television two years ago, appeared unimpressed.
鈥淪it down. Come on,鈥� said Vance, the youngest and least politically experienced of the remaining candidates sitting in a row on stage. 鈥淭his is ridiculous.鈥�
To many observers, his calm, self-possessed reaction gave Vance an adult-in-the-room authority over his opponents. When Ohio Right to Life , the group cited his 鈥渟tatesmanship鈥� among the reasons.
Vance's debating skills also caught the eye of , who in that winning 2022 Senate bid and to be his running mate in this year's presidential election. His early encounters offer a sense of how the Yale-educated senator could approach Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate, when he meets running mate, Minnesota Gov. . It is the only time the two are expected to meet during the campaign.
Vance is known for being informed, articulate and unflappable. Even his 2022 Democratic opponent, Tim Ryan, said, 鈥淗e鈥檚 a smart guy." He'll bring a style honed through verbal jousting with a gauntlet of television journalists, but not one that looks like Trump's.
Republican political consultant Terry Casey, who has regularly helped with GOP debate prep in Ohio, said Vance and Trump are 鈥渘ight and day" when it comes to debating.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a lawyer who, intellectually, likes to dig into subjects in a different way than Trump does,鈥� Casey said. 鈥淭rump both missed opportunities and took the bait when Kamala Harris. My guess is, with Vance, he won鈥檛 fall into those traps or neglect those opportunities.鈥�
Vance said on a call with journalists this week that he feels no pressure to do 鈥渁nything similar鈥� to the extensive debate preparation being done by Walz.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we have to prepare that much鈥� because 鈥渨e don鈥檛 have to hide our record from the American people,鈥� Vance said.
Still, Vance has spent the last month reviewing debate plans, strategies and potential questions, according to a person familiar with his preparations who requested anonymity to discuss strategy. In addition to online sessions, most of that work has been taking place at his home in Cincinnati 鈥� where , and Trump campaign strategist Jason Miller have joined members of his inner circle to get Vance ready.
Minnesota U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, has been helping verse Vance in the Minnesota governor鈥檚 鈥渇olksy鈥� Midwestern style, as the team pores over Walz鈥檚 past debate performances, the source said. It鈥檚 perhaps not as far a stretch for Vance 鈥� an Ohio native with Appalachian roots made familiar to many by the 鈥淗illbilly Elegy鈥� book and movie 鈥� as it might be for another candidate.
Vance comes into the event with solid debate performances from 2022 behind him.
One such performance, in Cleveland, 鈥� and helped Vance land the former president鈥檚 .
Vance鈥檚 Democratic rival that fall, the former 10-term congressman Ryan, said the senator鈥檚 vulnerability Tuesday could be in trying to deliver a performance that pleases Trump.
鈥淗e鈥檚 got an audience of one, for sure, so that can also be his Achilles鈥� heel,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淏ecause Trump will want him to be aggressive, he鈥檒l want him to try to portray Walz as super extreme and out of touch, which I think 鈥� given Walz鈥檚 appearance, and demeanor, and sense of humor and everything 鈥� will be very difficult.鈥�
Ryan said he went into his debates with Vance trying to highlight his past controversial statements, and that can cause Vance to 鈥済o off the rails a little bit.鈥�
鈥淲alz should be very aggressive in holding his feet to the fire and getting JD to really have to eat his own words,鈥� he said.
Casey said the two men鈥檚 age difference 鈥� Walz is 60, Vance 40 鈥� will be apparent onstage, although with that comes a contrast in debate experience. Walz has honed his technique during 12 years in Congress and two runs for governor, while Vance has run in just a single political campaign 鈥� albeit a fiercely competitive one.
If history is any indicator, viewers can expect Vance to criticize Tuesday鈥檚 moderators, CBS鈥� Norah O鈥橠onnell and Margaret Brennan, while the debate is underway. Since becoming Trump鈥檚 running mate, Vance has been the Trump campaign鈥檚 highest-profile attack dog and a fixture on weekend news programs 鈥� where he often pushes back at hosts and calls them out by name.
In one notable exchange with CNN鈥檚 Dana Bash, Vance on Sept. 15 signaled his determination to stick by the false story that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were , claims refuted by both local officials and Ohio鈥檚 Republican governor but amplified by Trump in his Sept. 10 debate with Harris. following those statements forced the city to and some members of the Haitian community, who are in the U.S. legally, have said they feel unsafe.
Vance insisted to Bash that his statements about immigrants eating pets were based on things he鈥檇 been told by constituents. He blamed problems involving crowded schools, hospitals and other services in Springfield on 鈥淜amala Harris鈥� open border.鈥�
Challenged by Bash about the facts behind his assertions, . Instead, he directly questioned Bash鈥檚 objectivity.
鈥淒ana, would you like to ask me questions and let me answer them, or would you like to debate me on these topics?鈥� he asked.
Vance鈥檚 forceful pushback seems to delight the Trump base. In an interview this summer, Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative activist group Turning Point USA, said such settings are Vance鈥檚 strong suit.
鈥淚 say commonly that JD Vance鈥檚 superpower is his ability to go into adversarial media environments, be calm, cool and collected, and say things that are very persuasive without raising his voice,鈥� Kirk said.
Vance also has viewed those media sit-downs as excellent debate practice, the person familiar with his preparations said.
Under ordinary circumstances, it鈥檚 hard to find evidence that debates matter much, said Kevin Parsneau, a political science professor at Minnesota State University in Mankato. He said even the 鈥� in which Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen devastatingly told Republican Sen. Dan Quayle, 鈥淪enator, you鈥檙e no Jack Kennedy鈥� 鈥� didn鈥檛 change the outcome. Vice President George H.W. Bush still went on to easily win the presidency.
鈥淏ut obviously the Biden-Trump debate mattered a lot, and there might be some evidence that the Trump-Harris debate mattered a little,鈥� Parsneau said. 鈥淰ice presidential debates don鈥檛 usually matter.鈥�
Yet, assuming this is the last debate of the 2024 campaign, 鈥渢he margins are so razor thin that you don鈥檛 need to affect a lot,鈥� he said.