Wednesday night's vice presidential debate was a more civil affair than last week's presidential debate—which wasn't exactly a high bar to clear. Analysts say Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence turned in solid performances in the Salt Lake City debate, but there was little that would have swayed undecided voters either way—and the moment most likely to be remembered beyond the next news cycle was when a fly landed on Pence's head. Some takeaways:
- Not a game-changer. The debate did nothing to change the trajectory of the race, Shane Goldmacher writes at the New York Times. Despite high expectations from Democrats, Harris "did not eviscerate Mr. Pence," he writes. "As for Mr. Pence, he turned in an effective, dutiful, conservative case for Mr. Trump." He predicts that "the debate could have a bigger impact on the 2024 race than on 2020."