Hundreds of people gathered in San Francisco’s Mission District to watch the vice presidential debate.
It was a left-leaning and lively crowd but many said they were pleasantly surprised by the substantive debate both candidates brought to the stage.
Janet Covey came with a few of her friends and sat near the front. She told KPIX she lives in San Francisco but grew up in a Republican family.
She said she was a little nervous for Democrats coming into the debate but by the time it ended she felt pretty good about how things went.
“My initial reaction is JD Vance is very slick, but I think he’s forgotten who he’s running with. I think that the reason they kept saying they aligned on a lot of policies is because that really is what he thinks, but it’s not the person he’s running with,” said Covey.
Several moments sparked reaction from Covey and the rest of the audience but nothing quite like the heated back and forth between Vance and Walz over immigration.
“JD Vance tried to make it seem like the Vice President, who currently is Kamala Harris, runs the entire country. I think that’s what he was trying to point out. I wonder if he thinks that’s what his job is going to be if he actually does that because that’s what he made it seem like,” said Covey.
While most people in the room were not fans of Senator Vance, many said they were happy to see a debate where, for the most part, the candidates followed the rules and were respectful to each other.
“It was very impressive. That part was much better and Vance disassociated from Trump. The reality is he was able to be agreeable on a lot of these policies because it wasn’t really Trump’s position,” said Cathy Courtney, a watch party attendee.
Covey said she’s not too sure how much, if any, this debate will do to move the needle on the election.
She believes most voters are already firmly set in their decision.
“I don’t think it’s really going — I think it’s really a whatever side you’re on you’re going to lean towards that person,” said Covey.
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