On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Democratic Senator of California Kamala Harris and Republican Vice President Mike Pence participated in a debate competing for the vice-presidential spot for the 2020 election. 

Susan Page, the journalist for USA Today, was the moderator for this debate in order to to articulate the ground rules and questions, as well as to ensure both candidates had an equal opportunity to speak and convey their thoughts to the public. 

As compared to the first presidential debate on Tuesday, Sept. 29, many considered this debate to be more civil with fewer interruptions. It was agreed that both candidates were respectfully debating; however, some voters believe both candidates tried to avoid certain questions.

“Compared to the presidential debate, the VP debate was more controlled and followed a proper debate format. However, both sides dodged questions and also missed on certain points. I thought Kamala did a nice job responding on key issues while Pence was clever in his replies,” said Kian Bandukwala, senior.

Imaan Zaheer, sophomore, echoed Bandukwala’s sentiment.

“Pence managed to find a way to not answer almost every question but I think one of the worst parts was about women and healthcare. As a woman, I believe people would want to see where their rights are headed and he didn’t answer that,” Zaheer said. 

The public’s main concern during this election is how the candidates are working to ensure and devise a safe plan to get back to normal during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both candidates explained why they would make the better vice president. They did so by explaining their plan in terms of the pandemic and what rules and regulations they would enforce to make sure America can open safely without causing harm to the economy.

Pence argued in favor of reopening right away in order to save the economy, while Harris took a more conservative approach and wanted to take some time to guarantee the safety of the public. 

This debate offered a new glimpse of what politics would look like if the Biden-Harris ticket were to win the election.

The country has never been more politically divided, which is why it is extremely important to vote, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Voting is what makes our democracy continue to be in existence. Without citizens completing this responsibility of citizenship, we will no longer have a democratic republic. What is important to us as citizens and the direction we want our various governmental bodies to go in,” said Ms. Wilda, civics teacher. 

For more information on this year’s election, you can visit Politico for predictions and statistics. Viewers can watch the debate here.