INDIANAPOLIS — A group of students at University of Indianapolis gathered Tuesday at the student center on campus for a vice presidential debate watch party.
All eyes were glued to the screen and the students we spoke with all had their own expectations about the debate, citing the styles and politics of candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz.
They said the debate did not disappoint.
There are several issues that the students said they cared about, and since it was the only scheduled vice presidential debate before the November election, they believe statements made Tuesday hold some weight.
"One thing I really like to see was how cordial this debate was, how respectful it was. It's so pleasant to see this in American politics now, where we can have two people who disagree and then sometimes radically disagree with one another but can come to a debate stage, have some fun with it but still realize that there's important differences in a respectful way. And I really, really appreciate that," said student Levi Ault.
Fellow student Bryce Howard agreed.
"Just the overall respect for one another, it was nice, a nice change to see the difference between the vice presidential debate, how they're really respectful and calm and weren't just firing, like, attacks at each other the whole time, whereas the presidential debate between Harris and Trump, it was just constant attack and amongst each other, whereas I thought this was very respectful and I almost agreed on some things," he said.
Political expert Laura Wilson said she didn't expect Tuesday's debate to drastically change the trajectory of the race.
"But I do think for people that had yet to make up their minds, this really helps inform them on Waltz and Vance and now, of course, the top of the ticket, but who's gonna be supporting the presidential candidates and who they might prefer to have in office," said Wilson.
The students we spoke with said they don't believe tonight had a clear winner. Wilson said these same students, many of them first-time voters, will be in a classroom Wednesday, breaking down everything they heard during the debate. They'll also be knocking on doors in Indy's University Heights neighborhood, offering help registering other new voters.