What to expect in the 2024 vice presidential debate

Walz, Vance prepare to take debate stage

In just hours, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance will take the stage for the vice presidential debate but in this case, there is more pressure on the running mates as it appears Kamala Harris and Donald Trump won't debate again.

WASHINGTON - In just hours, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance will take the stage for a high-stakes vice presidential debate.

There’s more pressure on the running mates as it appears that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump won't be facing off in a debate again. That means it’s likely the final opportunity the two campaigns will have to show off their positions, live and unfiltered.

The latest polls have Trump and Harris close in battleground states but things are more complicated for their running mates.

RELATED: Voters have more favorable view of Walz than Vance, polls show

According to polling site FiveThirtyEight, Walz is currently seen favorably by 40% of American voters. Vance, meanwhile, has a 38.4% favorability rating, while 45.8% of voters hold an unfavorable view of the Ohio senator.

So what do Vance and Walz need to achieve for their respective parties tonight?

FOX 5 spoke with 2016 democratic nominee Tim Kaine and former Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore who ran for president in the 2016 GOP primaries.

"Probably the only cardinal rule in a debate like this for the vice president is you don’t allow any kind of any shots on goal against the top of your ticket," Kaine said. "You’ve got to be a goaltender and block shots and protect that top of the ticket."

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"People don’t know these candidates as well as they do the presidential candidates – particularly, I think Tim Walz," Gilmore said. "Nobody knows anything about him so this is his opportunity to introduce himself and also Vance’s opportunity to call him on some things."

When the Republicans left their convention in Milwaukee, Vance thought he was heading to a debate against VP Harris. That all changed, of course, when President Joe Biden dropped out and Harris took over the top spot.

Now, Vance, a junior senator who took office in 2022, will have to take on Walz, the six-year governor of Minnesota.

Debate questions are expected to take on the same range they did in the Harris-Trump debate, including the economy, immigration, abortion and foreign policy.