Tim Walz staggered by cool JD Vance, admits 'I'm a knucklehead' during genial VP debate | 1 Oct 2024 | Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz stunned watchers of Tuesday night's vice presidential debate as he nervously fidgeted, frowned and even called himself a "knucklehead" -- while his Republican counterpart, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, gave a steady and lawyerly presentation and was widely seen as the victor. The largely good-natured forum, hosted by CBS News, featured the two candidates agreeing with each other repeatedly and expressing warm personal sentiments -- avoiding the blistering personal attacks that were part of both presidential debates earlier this year. Walz, 60, who has honed a folksy demeanor on the campaign trail, was noticeably nervous and misspoke repeatedly as he wrung his hands, took frantic notes, and his eyes darted around the CBS studio... The debate appeared to pay off handsomely, with venerable pollster Frank Luntz finding that in a 14-person focus group of undecided voters across seven battleground states, 12 concluded that Vance won the debate.