Democrat Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz is battling nerves heading into the upcoming debate against Republican JD Vance, CNN reported.
The gravity of Tuesday night’s debate is weighing on Walz, even more so than when he told Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris that he was a bad debater in his running mate interview, according to CNN. Walz doesn’t want Harris to think she made the wrong choice, the report added.
“He’s just not a lawyer-debater type. It’s not like he was dreaming of debates when he was in first grade,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told CNN.
Walz’s game plan is to aim his attacks at Republican nominee Donald Trump rather than Vance himself by bringing up Project 2025 and references to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riots, according to the report. Trump has repeatedly denounced Project 2025, an effort put forth by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, but the Harris-Walz campaign continues to excerpt points from it in their attempts to link Trump to it.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been playing the role of Vance in Walz’s debate prep.
Vance recruited Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., to play Gov. Walz. Vance has also had virtual sessions with his team and Jason Miller, Trump's campaign strategist. Vance's wife, Usha Vance, a Yale law school graduate, has also been involved in the debate preparation sessions.
The choice of Emmer, the House Majority Whip, is designed to prepare Vance for Walz's "folksy" style, the Ohio senator's team said recently. Emmer has immersed himself in Walz's prior debates and positions.
Vance has attacked Walz as an out-of-touch liberal and has questioned his military service, which Walz embellished, according to reports.
Tuesday’s debate is likely to be the final one held before the Nov. 5 general election. While Harris accepted a second presidential debate with CNN for late October, Trump declined, saying it’s too late with early voting already underway in many states.