pence kaine
This combination of pictures created on October 3, 2016 shows Republican Vice Presidential nominee and running mate Mike Pence (left) speaking during the Midwest Vision and Values Pastors and Leadership Conference at the New Spirit Revival Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio on Sept. 21, 2016, and US Democratic Nominee for Vice President Tim Kaine speaking during the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 27, 2016. AFP/ Getty Images / Mandel Ngan / Saul Loeb

A heated debate Tuesday night between the vice presidential nominees — Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine — saw two seasoned politicians do their best to help their running mates, Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The debate featured comments on a range of issues, including police brutality, immigration, insults in political discourse and terrorism. Kaine seemed focused on hitting Pence on his support for some of Trump's more controversial remarks. Pence, meanwhile, did an adept job of providing a calm defense of Trump's positions. Here are some of the key moments from the event Tuesday:

Pence mixed up the name of the host college, Virginia's Longwood University.

Kaine talked about Trump's insults while Pence said Clinton is even worse.

Pence shared his admiration for police officers.

Kaine praised community policing.

Kaine reviewed Trump's Twitter antics.

Kaine brought up Trump's taxes, and his refusal to release his returns.

The candidates discussed immigration and deportation.

Moderator CBS' Elaine Quijano tried to get the two VP candidates under control.

The two candidates debated safety, terrorism and the role of commander-in-chief.

Heading into the debate, the pressure was likely weighing heavier on Pence, who needed to right the ship after a bad stretch for Trump. Before the first presidential debate between Clinton and Trump, the race had tightened significantly. But a strong performance from Clinton, and a disastrous stretch for Trump, allowed Clinton to open up a wider lead in national polls and swing states. Heading into the VP debate Tuesday, she was up 3.7 percentage points in the Real Clear Politics average of polls in a four-way race.

Voters had expected an even matchup between Pence and Kaine. A CNN poll of likely voters found that 38 percent thought Pence would win and 38 percent thought Kaine would win. Eight percent said there would be no difference between the two candidates while 13 percent had no opinion on the matter.

Heading into the event, an ABC News survey found that more than 40 percent of Americans couldn't even name the VP nominee of either party. The two candidates were not particularly well-liked either. An August Gallup poll found 33 percent of respondents have a favorable impression of Kaine while 36 percent had a favorable impression of Pence.