Abortion rights, the biggest issue in the 2024 election, sparked the longest and most heated debate of the night.
It’s an issue that Democrats have used to energize voters, and one that regularly casts Trump as a threat to women’s autonomy because of his role in appointing a conservative majority to the Supreme Court. The court later overturned Roe v Wade, a decision that had protected abortion rights in the United States for decades.
Walz cited the stories of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, two women from Georgia whose deaths were linked to the state’s abortion restrictions.
Vance, meanwhile, said his opinion on the matter has changed. He said he previously supported national restrictions on abortion, but changed his stance after seeing a majority of Ohio voters support access to abortion.
He also said his party “must do a much better job of regaining the trust of the American people on this issue, who frankly don’t trust us.”
