Walz and Vance’s Greatest Economic Battles

The economy played a starring role in the first and likely only vice presidential debate between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. J.D. Vance Tuesday night, with both candidates positioning themselves as champions of the middle class.

Despite CBS moderators briefly muting Vance and at one point cutting Walz for going too far, the candidates had a largely cordial evening. The two shook hands at the climax of the evening and repeatedly agreed during the debate on the key issues facing the country. Both talked about being “middle class” and argued that their respective plans would strengthen working families and improve the economy.

However, the candidates and their policies are very different.

Vance has spent time in venture capital and has an estimated net worth of $10 million, according to a WashingtonPost analysis. Walz, on the other hand, does not own any stocks, bonds or even real estate. Together with his wife Gwen, his net worth is $330,000, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

Their key differences in financial policy were highlighted at every opportunity throughout the night, even when it came to questions not directly about the economy.

Here’s a look at four key economic policy areas where Walz and Vance went head-to-head on Tuesday:

1. Affordable housing
Affordable housing came up early in the debate during the immigration portion, when Vance linked the issues and claimed that immigrants in the U.S. illegally are driving up the cost of housing. The candidates returned to the issue during a special segment of the debate on housing, when Vance doubled his winnings.

“That’s why we have massive increases in housing prices, which occurred alongside a massive increase in illegal alien populations led by Kamala Harris,” he said.

But Walz blamed Wall Street for treating housing like “a commodity” and defended his and Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ plan to offer $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers.

“People with stable housing get stable jobs. People with stable housing ensure that their children can go to school. All of these things ultimately save us money,” Walz said, defending Harris’ plan, which also calls for tax incentives to build more homes.

Moderators also questioned Vance about Trump’s plan to seize federal land to build more housing, but he did not go into details.

“We should open more buildings in this country. We have a lot of land that could be used,” he said. Vance has repeatedly blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris for the current housing situation.

2. Healthcare
Vance and Walz both discussed drug prices and agreed that Washington needed to reduce costs, although Walz could improve on his strong record in this area. In 2020, he famously signed a bill that would help Minnesotans afford insulin.

When J.D. Vance was asked to outline a plan to improve the Affordable Care Act, he declined to provide clear details but called for changes in the health insurance market. Vance and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump have argued that healthy Americans are burdened by current health insurance prices and that changes in the marketplace would lower their costs.

Walz hit back, saying Vance’s plan would increase costs and cause people to lose coverage. He and Harris have opposed private equity ownership in health care.

3. Climate change
Climate change was one of the first questions asked by moderators during the vice presidential debate and quickly took an economic turn as the candidates debated their views on electric vehicles, solar energy and energy-related jobs. With the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene fresh in US minds, both candidates were asked how their respective governments would reduce the impact of climate change.

Addressing Trump, Walz said, “Donald Trump called it a hoax and then joked that these things would create more beachfront real estate to invest in.” He then touted his experience as governor of Minnesota, which brought electric vehicle and solar energy jobs to the state.

Vance said, “Trump and I support clean air and clean water,” and lashed out at Harris for “doing business with the dirtiest parts of the world,” referring to manufacturing in China.

Vance argued that his and Trump’s plan, which calls for investing in more natural gas, will be friendlier to the American wallet and create jobs in the US. He also blamed Harris for the current oil prices.

4. Tax cuts and tariffs
Walz and Vance each tried to pitch their tax cuts as the better option for the middle class.

Walz opened the section saying, “Kamala Harris and I believe in the middle class because that’s where we came from.” Their plan includes tax breaks for children and tax cuts for the middle class. Walz blamed Trump’s management of COVID for “the collapse of our economy” and said Harris had turned the tide. He also linked Trump to oil billionaires and questioned Trump’s tax-paying record.

“If you’re listening tonight and you want billionaires to get tax cuts,” Trump is your candidate, Walz told voters as he looked directly into the camera. Have you paid any federal taxes for the last fifteen years?”

Vance responded: “If Kamala Harris has such great plans to address the problems of the middle class, she should implement them now – not when she asks for a promotion.”

Vance also defended Trump’s legacy on the economy, with moderators pressing him to respond to his own past comments criticizing Trump.

“Donald Trump has taken care of the American people: rising wages, rising take-home pay, an economy that works for normal Americans, a secure southern border,” he said. “If you mess up, if you say the wrong thing, if you do the wrong thing, and change your mind, you have to be honest with the American people.”

He also partly blamed Congress, saying there were “a lot of things at the border, on the tariff front” that “could have done so much more if the Republican Congress and the Democrats in Congress had been a little bit better in the way they governed the country. .”

Responses to the debate
After the debate, 88% of viewers said they viewed the event as “generally positive”.

For a bigger picture of the economic impact of the 2024 US presidential race, check out some of our previous reports:

This story originally appeared on Fortune.com