Ground Game: VP debate, Dems court Trump voters in AZ, North Carolina down ballot races

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Plus, Democratic Arizona Senate hopeful courts Trump voters, and down-ballot effects for US House candidates in North Carolina{beacon}

By Meg Kinnard

September 30, 2024 10:48:20 AM

By Meg Kinnard

September 30, 2024 10:48:20 AM

  

Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday in the lone vice-presidential debate of the 2024 election, bringing together running mates who have spent two months going after each other and the top of the major party tickets.

Welcome to this week’s edition of AP Ground Game.

 

THE HEADLINES

Republican vice-presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face one another at the vice-presidential debate on Oct. 1, 2024 in New York City. (AP Photo)

What to watch in the VP debate

The VP matchup, hosted by CBS News in New York, might not carry the same stakes as the Sept. 10 debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, but it’s the biggest online and TV audience either No. 2 will likely see before Election Day. And it offers each a fresh opportunity to introduce themselves, vouch for their bosses and fulfill a time-honored role of a running mate: attack dog.

Walz, the 60-year-old Minnesota governor, and Vance, a 40-year-old U.S. senator from Ohio, have previewed potential approaches for weeks. Walz was the Democrat who coined “weird” as a go-to pejorative for the Republican ticket. Vance assails the governor's progressive record as proof Democrats are too far left for voters.

Vance has mocked his fellow veteran’s military service record. Walz hammers Vance's opposition to abortion rights and his