Tim Kaine speaks to voters during a campaign event in Richmond, Virginia. (Getty)
On Tuesday, October 4th, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence will go head-to-head for the first (and only) time at Longwood University in Virginia. How long will the debate last, and what is its format?
Just like the first presidential debate, the VP debate will be 90 minutes long, taking place from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. It may go a bit beyond 10:30 if the candidates go over their allotted time, but it’s unlikely to end much later than 10:40 p.m.
Also like the main presidential debate last week, the vice presidential debate will be presented entirely without commercial interruption. If you don’t want to miss anything, you’ll want to make sure you grab your snacks and drinks before things get going.
The format of the VP debate, however, is a bit different than that of the Donald Trump/Hillary Clinton debate last week. Tuesday’s event will be divided up into nine segments, each one consisting of 10 minutes, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates. (The presidential debate consisted of six segments of 15 minutes each, so expect the VP debate to be a bit more rushed.)
Each segment will open with a question from the moderator, after which candidates have two minutes to respond. The remaining minutes will be spent on followups. The debate’s moderator is CBSN’s Elaine Quijano. She is the one who will come up with the questions, though we don’t yet know what the topics are.
The vice presidential debate will be broadcast on most major networks, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CBS, NBC, Fox and CSPAN.