SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Midtown Sacramento sports bar traded the big game for the big debate between America's vice presidential candidates Tuesday, five weeks ahead of election day.
Watch party organizer and Sacramento Press Club President Alexei Koseff said with the way this political cycle's debates can go, "Sometimes, you need a stiff drink to get through it." Hence, the Tuesday night watch party at Bar West on J Street.
"This is a little more fun than sitting at home alone on your couch," Koseff said.
Some voters observed that the tone of the debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance was more serious and sober than the debates between the candidates at the top of the ticket.
"There is substance to it, and their arguments are actually involving and interesting," said Kacper Bartczak, a visitor from Poland, who stopped by the bar with some friends to watch American democracy in action.
"Everyone in Poland is thinking about your elections," Bartczak said.
And while some voters may have walked into the bar open to persuasion, Marit MacArthur said she did not.
"No, I'm not a swing voter," MacArthur said as a supporter of the Harris/Walz ticket.
Across town at the California Federation of Teachers watch party, there weren't likely to be many swing voters either; it's national counterpart endorsed Harris/Walz over the summer.
"I think the debates are very helpful for understanding the candidates, understanding the differences of the candidates," said CFT President Jeff Freitas, though he said he understood in this divided political atmosphere, the debates aren't for everyone.
"I like them. I have friends that don’t even want to watch because they are so stressed out," Freitas said.
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