Vance-Walz debate may be a turning point in US election

Poll shows 75 per cent of Americans plan to watch the event

- ALICJA HAGOPIAN

As Republicans and Democrats gear up for the vice-presidential debate this week, exclusive polling shows that this is an event that has the potential to change everything.

Two-thirds of Democrats believe the vice-presidential candidate has a significant impact on the overall presidential ticket, according to polling from Prolific for The Independent.

Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance is set to debate Democratic VP pick Tim Walz at 9pm ET tomorrow (2am Wednesday for viewers in the UK). Three out of four Americans (75 per cent) are planning to watch the VP debate, according to the poll, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 participants on the Prolific platform on 22 September.

Mr Vance has said he “doesn’t have to prepare that much” for his first head-to-head – despite reports to the contrary in The New York Times, which suggested he will spend several days this week in preparation.

Although the VP debate might appear to live in the shadow of this month’s Trump-Harris match-up, the polls suggest that, for many voters, the event will be far from insignificant.

As to whether debates themselves have a significant impact on how voters lean, our poll shows that a third (30 per cent) of viewers had a more positive opinion of Kamala Harris following the presidential earlier this month. This includes 21 per cent of independent voters, who constitute a crucial factor in the outcome of the election.