Here’s who’s standing in for JD Vance and Tim Walz in VP debate prep

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance and Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz are teeing off for the first and only VP debate of the 2024 race next week, and both teams are in the middle of prepping for a primetime audience. 

CBS News is hosting the VP debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on Oct. 1. 

Here’s who is standing in for JD Vance in Tim Walz’s debate prep

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is standing in for Vance in Walz’s debate prep sessions, according to a campaign official familiar with the prep. 

Buttigieg was praised for his debating skills during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary process, and was a stand-in for former Vice President Mike Pence’s in Harris’ debate prep. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg has also made frequent appearances on Fox News, earning the nickname “Slayer Pete” by the Los Angeles Times for being a “rhetorical assassin” on cable news. 

Here’s who is standing in for Tim Walz in JD Vance’s debate prep

Republican Rep. Tom Emmer is standing in for Walz in Vance’s debate prep sessions, according to three sources familiar with Vance’s debate preparations.

Emmer, the law degree-holding House majority whip, hails from Walz’s home state of Minnesota, offering Vance’s team an insight into how Walz works. Buttigieg, from a Midwestern state like Vance is, is known for his willingness to appear on Fox News and effectively carry Democrats’ message beyond their base audience. 

Walz has said he expects Vance to be well prepared. 

“Look, he’s– he’s Yale Law guy. I’m public school teacher, so we know where he’s at on that,” Walz told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow after the Sept. 10 debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in Philadelphia. “… I fully expect that Senator Vance, as a United States Senator, a Yale Law guy, he’ll come well prepared.”

The debate will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.

CBS News will host the only planned vice presidential debate between Vance and Walz on Tuesday, October 1 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and CBS News 24/7. Download the free CBS News app for live coverage, post-debate analysis, comprehensive fact checks and more.