Kaine interrupted Pence and moderator more than 70 times during VP debate, RNC says

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine’s strategy for Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate seemed clear: to interrupt his opponent as many times as possible.

According to the Republican National Committee and others, Kaine interrupted his opponent, Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence, and the debate's moderator, CBS News' Elaine Quijano, more than 70 times during the debate.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, left, and Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence face off during the vice presidential debate Tuesday night. (Getty Images/Mark Wilson)

The RNC sent an email to reporters following the debate that featured tweets that highlighted the fact that many voters were turned off by Kaine's aggressive tactics. The email included this tweet from CNN's Dan Merica:

According to The Hill, RNC chairman Reince Priebus said after the debate that Kaine "desperately flailed away with empty platitudes and constant interruptions."

Another analysis from ABC News backed up the RNC, finding that Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate. Pence, on the other hand, interrupted just 40 times, it found.

An analysis from FiveThirtyEight backed up both ABC News and the RNC, finding that Kaine interrupted more than 60 times on Tuesday, while Pence interrupted more than 30 times.

Many, like the voter cited by Merica, thought that Kaine's almost constant interruptions were bad for him. Even MSNBC's Chris Matthews, a noted liberal, thought Kaine seemed "desperate."

Watch a mashup of the interruptions below, via HeatStreet:

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