The political spotlight will focus on the two running mates of the presidential candidates. Senator Tim Kaine will face-off against Gov. Mike Pence. This will be the only vice presidential candidare debate. The debate is not expected to have the same 84-million viewers the first Clinton-Trump debate had.
Here’s a look at how the media expects the two candidates to react:
New York Times: Tim Kaine and Mike Pence Prepare for Vice-Presidential Proxy Fight
Exactly a week before Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana hunkered down with a small coterie of aides for his first full day of intensive debate preparation.
His team reserved rooms on the second floor of the Sheraton hotel in Madison, Wis., and Scott Walker — the state’s mild-mannered, affable governor — arrived to play Mr. Pence’s rival, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, in mock debate sessions.
Washington Times: All eyes on Mike Pence, Tim Kaine ahead of vice-presidential debate
Donald Trump’s stumble in the first presidential debate and the rough week that followed upped the pressure on his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to regain the campaign’s footing with a strong performance in Tuesday’s debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine.
The two men have a lot in common and lots of political experience, including stints on Capitol Hill and in governor’s mansions. Both also were relatively unknown before being tapped for the No. 2 spot by their parties’ famous, albeit polarizing, nominees.
“Both of them are going to have to defend the top of the ticket. But after Donald Trump’s performance last week,Kaine will probably walk in thinking he’s got the advantage,” said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf.
Wall Street Journal: Stakes Rise for Mike Pence in Vice-Presidential Debate
Mike Pence is in many ways Donald Trump’s opposite—an unfailingly polite and humble establishment Republican with a full head of naturally white hair and a wife of 31 years.
“I’m kind of the B-list Republican celebrity,” the vice-presidential nominee and Indiana governor told several hundred supporters in Leetonia, Ohio, last Wednesday. “I’m not the main event.”
He also has far better ties to mainstream Republicans, who now are counting on him to get the better of his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, on the debate stage Tuesday night. The stakes for that event have risen after Mr. Trump’s uneven debate performance last week against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and after the publication of some of Mr. Trump’s tax records.
