Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance faced off in a vice presidential debate on Tuesday, Oct. 10. The debate was moderated by CBS journalists Nora O’Donell and Margaret Brennan. Walz is running alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Vance is running alongside Former President Donald Trump.

The debate lasted over 90 minutes. The candidates spoke on topics ranging from climate change to abortion.

“I thought the debate was much more civil than the actual presidential debate. I found that both candidates- or both running mates had very good, very decent points. There were some tense situations, some moments where I thought maybe they ought to settle down a bit, maybe they should take their time [and] articulate their responses. Regardless, that was one of the best debates I’ve seen in the past four years, especially among our current candidates. I’m glad we’re finally headed in a better direction than we have been. It serves to show a better future that we can do things together if we actually tried,” senior Aymal Yousefzai said.

AP Government and Politics teacher Mike Wasielewski agreed that the debate was more civil than past debates.

“Last night’s VP debate returned to a more dignified and respectful tone between the two candidates,” Wasielewski said. “Since the 2015 Republican primaries, we’ve gotten used to insults, aggressive behavior and personal attacks. The two candidates seemed to focus much more on policies for the future.”

Wasielewski does not think that the debate will influence opinions of undecided voters.

“I do not think the debate will have a large impact on the few undecided voters who remain who happened to watch. But the VP does influence the election by offering traits that compliment their Presidential running mate, or mobilizing certain groups within their party to vote,” Wasielewski said. 

Niles West’s Political Affairs and Current Events club (PACE) meets every Friday to discuss world news. Junior Alejandro Estrada, a member of PACE club, compared the vice presidential debate to the presidential debate, which took place on Sept. 10.

“I thought the vice presidential debate was very professional. It was more professional than the presidential debate because that was a giant circus. I think I could see that both sides would say that their candidate was the winner,” Estrada said.

The presidential election is less than a month away. All students who are 18 and older can register to vote in order to participate in the election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.