Tim Kaine and Mike Pence are on the debate stage, but their clash really centers on two other people: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Watch the debate on CNN and follow reaction on the live blog.[1]
Kaine, Clinton's running mate, said that for him and his wife, who have a son deployed overseas as a Marine, "the thought of Donald Trump as commander-in-chief scares us to death."
He hammered Trump over his temperament, accused him of pursuing an "outrageous lie" over claims President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and condemned him for calling Mexicans criminals and rapists in his announcement speech last year.
Pence turned the focus back on Clinton, accusing her family's foundation of accepting donations from foreign governments while she was secretary of state and slamming her over the private email server she used while in office.
Pence also defended Trump over a story in The New York Times that revealed he declared a $916 million loss in 1995 and may have therefore been able to avoid paying income tax for years.
"He actually built a business. Those tax returns showed he faced some pretty tough times 20 years ago," Pence said. "He used the tax code just the way it's supposed to be used, and he did it brilliantly."
Kaine said Trump had broken a promise by not releasing his tax returns and failed to meet the "Nixon standard" of released his taxes while under audit.
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