Tim Walz-JD Vance VP Debate Ratings compared to Kamala Harris-Mike Pence

The debate between Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio saw a sharp decline in viewership compared to the 2020 vice presidential debate.

Viewership figures released by Nielsen on Wednesday showed that 43.1 million people watched the event on Tuesday evening. In 2020, 57.9 million people watched Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, then a U.S. Senator, take on Republican Vice President Mike Pence.

While the Walz-Vance debate, considered a relatively civil affair, was watched by nearly 25 percent fewer people than its predecessor, the Harris-Pence debate was also the second most-watched vice presidential debate since Nielsen began keeping records.

The most-watched debate among presidential candidates was the 2008 clash between Democratic President Joe Biden, then a longtime senator, and then-Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, with 69.9 million viewers.

Ratings for Tuesday’s debate were similar to those of the 2004 vice presidential debate between then-GOP Vice President Dick Cheney and then-Democratic U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, which was watched by 43.6 million people.

This year’s two presidential debates drew far more viewers than the Walz-Vance debate. The on-screen face-off between Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump on September 10 was watched by 67.1 million people, while the Trump-Biden debate on June 27 had 51.2 million viewers.

Newsweek sought comment via email Wednesday evening about the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz campaigns.

Tuesday’s debate was likely the last debate between major party presidential candidates this year, as Trump has repeatedly refused to participate in future debates with Harris.

While polls showed that a clear majority of Americans thought Harris won her debate with Trump, polls about the winner of the vice presidential debate were less clear.

A CNN/SSRS flash poll found that 51 percent of debate watchers thought Vance won the night, while 49 percent favored Walz. Both candidates significantly improved their approval ratings after the debate.

A similar CBS News/YouGov poll also showed that Vance was viewed as the winner by a very narrow margin of 42 percent to 41 percent, while 17 percent of respondents said the debate ended in a draw.

In a quick Politico poll, debate watchers were evenly split, with Walz and Vance each seen as winners by 50 percent of respondents.

But Walz won among independent voters in the Politico poll by a 58 percent to 42 percent margin, and he received a larger boost in his popularity rating in the CNN poll.

Christopher Devine, an associate professor of political science at the University of Dayton, had previously predicted in comments that neither candidate would decisively “win” the Walz-Vance debate Newsweek.

“It’s hard to truly ‘win’ a debate these days because the electorate is so polarized and desperate to believe that their party’s candidate has prevailed over the other side,” Devine said. “This debate will likely be a draw with Republicans believing Vance won and Democrats believing Walz won.”

“People in the middle may favor one or the other, but there aren’t enough of them to give either candidate a decisive victory if the partisans stand with their man,” he added.