San Francisco voters gather in the Mission District to watch the vice presidential debate

Hundreds of people gathered in San Francisco's Mission District to watch The Vice President Debate.

It was a left-leaning and lively crowd, but many said they were pleasantly surprised by the substantive debate both candidates brought to the stage.

Janet Covey came with a few of her friends and sat at the front. She told KPIX that she lives in San Francisco but grew up in a Republican family.

She said she was a little nervous about Democrats heading into the debate, but when the debate ended she felt pretty good about how things were going.

“My first reaction is that JD Vance is very smart, but I think he's forgotten who he's competing with. I think the reason they've kept saying they're following a lot of the guidelines is because he really thinks that, but it's not the person.” “He's running with it,” Covey said.

Several moments sparked reactions from Covey and the rest of the audience, but none quite as big as the heated back-and-forth between Vance and Walz over immigration.

“JD Vance has tried to create the impression that the Vice President, who is currently Kamala Harris, runs the entire country. I think that's what he was trying to convey. “Actually do that because he made it look that way,” Covey said.

While most of the people in the room weren't fans of Senator Vance, many said they were happy to see a debate where the candidates mostly followed the rules and were respectful to one another.

“It was very impressive. This part was much better and Vance distanced himself from Trump. The reality is that he was able to agree to a lot of these policies because that wasn't really Trump's position,” said Cathy Courtney, a Watch Party attendee.

Covey said she wasn't entirely sure how much, if anything, this debate would do to advance the election's progress.

She believes that most voters have already made up their minds.

“I don’t think it really works out — I think it really depends on what side you’re on, you’re going to lean toward that person,” Covey said.