NBC's Kristen Welker reveals 'panicked' Democrats texted her during debate worried by 'likable' Vance

NBC News' Kristen Welker revealed that Democrats were worried about how "likable" Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, came across during Tuesday night's CBS News Vice Presidential Debate.

Welker appeared on NBC's "Today" on Wednesday and confessed Democrats had texted her mid-debate "panicked" over how Vance's performance could turn the tide on his low favorability ratings.

"Sen. JD Vance clearly knew his challenge was to deal with the likability factor. The fact that in our poll, he's the second most disliked running mate in history. So I was getting texts from Democrats panicked, quite frankly, who were saying, ‘Wow, he’s really moderating himself on these issues. He’s the most likable he’s ever been,'" the "Meet the Press" host said.

Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, faced off against Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday, at their first and likely only debate before the November election. Media critics later called the debate in Vance's favor, saying Walz appeared "unsteady" and "nervous" compared to Vance's "smooth" demeanor.

REACTIONS ROLL IN FOR VP DEBATE AS CRITICS GIVE VANCE A WIN OVER WALZ

However, Welker noted that Democrats saw a weakness in Vance dodging a question from Walz about whether he agreed with former President Trump's denials that he lost the 2020 election.

"Yet, that moment at the end where Gov. Walz pressed him on whether he accepts whether former President Trump lost the election and he said, ‘Let’s focus on the future’ — they are going to try to make that into a flash point," Welker said.

"They’re already in the process of turning that into an ad. They believe that is going to be a way to really try to appeal to that very small sliver that is still undecided,