Real-time reactions from voters during the Vance-Walz debate on immigration, democracy, and abortion.

A group of Republicans, Democrats, and independents who were part of a Planet Chronicle Digital focus group reacted to the key moments from the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate between Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday night, providing real-time responses to the candidates' statements.

During a focus group hosted by Lee Carter, participants expressed their opinions about Vance and Walz through dials indicating their favorable, unfavorable, or neutral responses. The reactions of the voters who will influence the election provided insights into how they felt about the demeanor, character, and policies of the two candidates, one of whom will become the next vice president.

Some of the most significant voter reactions from Tuesday night's focus group were shared.

Vance's stance on immigration crisis during debate: 'Stop the bleeding'

During Tuesday's debate, Vance's argument for the U.S. to "stop the bleeding" at the border received a mixed response from voters.

Vance received mixed responses when he stated that the immigration crisis is a result of Kamala Harris' decision to undo all of Donald Trump's border policies.

The dials showed that while Republicans had a positive response to Vance's answers, Democrats had an opposite reaction, and independents remained neutral.

As voters watched Vance's speech, their perception of him shifted when he mentioned Trump's border policies, advocating for a return to Trump's approach to handling the border during his presidency.

Walz says 'most of us want to solve' migrant crisis

The response of Democrats and independents to Walz's statement on the migrant crisis and his criticism of the Trump administration was moderate to highly positive.

Walz defended Kamala Harris' record in California on immigration and touted the bipartisan immigration bill that Trump attempted to kill earlier this year. While Republicans were critical of Walz, independents and Democrats praised his performance.

"Pass the bill, she'll sign it," Walz said.

Vance claims he and Donald Trump support 'clean air, clean water'

When Vance mentioned that he and Trump support "clean air, clean water" in response to the debate topic of climate change, the reactions of Republican, Democrat, and independent voters varied.

Vance stated that many individuals are rightfully concerned about the unpredictable weather patterns. He emphasized the importance of acknowledging that Donald Trump and he support clean air and water. Their goal is to make the environment safer and cleaner.

Independents and Democrats' support for the Planet Chronicle Debate Dial decreased when Vance made that statement, while Republicans' support remained relatively stable.

When Vance mentioned that Democrats often discuss carbon emissions in relation to climate change, support among independent viewers increased.

"Vance stated, "The notion that carbon emissions are the sole cause of climate change. While this may be true for the sake of argument, we are not discussing unusual science. Let's assume it's true." If one believes this, what would they want to do? The answer is to restore as much American manufacturing as possible and produce as much energy as possible in the United States, as we have the cleanest economy in the world."

Walz dodges Tiananmen Square question: 'I'm a knucklehead at times'

The focus group gave poor to middling reviews of one of Walz's most challenging moments at the debate.

Walz's claim that he was present at the Tiananmen Square protests in Hong Kong in 1989 was confronted by moderators, who pointed out that he didn't travel to Asia until later that year. Walz's response was unclear and failed to directly address the discrepancy, with sub-par responses from Democrats, Republicans, and independents throughout his comment.

He eventually admitted he could be a "knucklehead" and that he'd misspoke.

When Walz stated that former President Trump would have benefited from joining one of his China trips, arguing that Trump would never have formed a friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, his support among Republicans reached its lowest point, falling below 10%.

Vance accuses moderators of fact-checking him during debates, and his microphone was cut off.

During the debate, moderator Margaret Brennan interrupted Vance when he claimed that illegal immigrants are overwhelming public resources in Springfield, Ohio, despite CBS stating that live fact-checking would not be allowed.

When Vance began explaining his stance, independent voters disapproved of the interjection, causing a significant dip in their support.

Vance admits his mistake in assessing Trump: 'I was incorrect about Donald Trump'

Republicans were highly favorable of Vance saying he was "wrong" about Trump in the past when confronted about his past criticism of his running mate, while Independents were mixed.

Vance admitted that he disagreed with the president at times, but he also acknowledged that he was wrong about Donald Trump. He was mistaken because he trusted some media stories that were later proven to be false fabrications of Trump's record.

Walz claims abortion is a 'basic human right'

Walz stated that the bill does not support abortion up until the ninth month, despite Minnesota being one of the least restrictive states for abortion.

Independent and Democratic voters remained mostly in the approval zone while Republican voters decreased significantly during Walz's speech.

"We ensured that women have control over their healthcare by restoring Roe v. Wade," Walz stated.

Democratic voters' approval slightly increased during his statement, while independent voters' approval decreased. However, both groups eventually balanced out and remained within the approval range.

"This is a basic human right," he later said.

While Democrats received slightly more approval from independent voters, Republicans experienced significant disapproval.

Walz and Vance's interaction regarding Walz's son witnessing a shooting: 'Christ have mercy'.

Across the board, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents responded positively to Vance's apology to Walz about his son witnessing a shooting.

The senator apologized to Walz for not knowing that his 17-year-old had witnessed a shooting.

"I appreciate it," Walz said.

"Christ have mercy," Vance remarked.

When asked about the 2020 presidential election, Vance stated that he is focused on the future.

When asked by Walz if Trump lost the 2020 election, Vance received an immediate low rating from Independents.

The approval ratings for Vance's answers on the Planet Chronicle Debate Dial were generally the same as Walz's, but the dials for independents and Democrats took a sharp dive when Vance dismissed a question. The sharpest decline was among independents.

In the aftermath of the debate, liberal media pundits frequently highlighted and analyzed a clip of Walz's performance, which they considered one of his strongest moments, despite Vance's overall control of the night.

This report was contributed to by Jamie Joseph, Adam Shaw, Danielle Wallace, Michael Lee, Anders Hagstrom, and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi of Planet Chronicle Digital.