Walz vs Vance

The upcoming US presidential election has brought about an exciting clash of ideologies and backgrounds, especially with the announcement of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Kamala Harris' running mate after Ohio Senator JD Vance's earlier selection on Donald Trump's ticket.

Walz is a former teacher and 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, who later served as a congressman from Minnesota before being elected governor of the state. Vance's youth made him a bit of a wildcard. At 39, he is the first millennial on a major party ticket and, if elected, would be the third-youngest VP ever. He served as a US marine for four years before earning a law degree. He later wrote a bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, about his impoverished childhood, which has since become an illustration of many of his political positions. Before being elected to the US Senate in 2020, he also served as a corporate lawyer and ran a controversial anti-addiction charity. Before being elected, Vance compared Trump to Hitler. Since then, however, he has been one of the former president's most die-hard supporters. Meanwhile, Walz, despite his long career, was relatively unknown nationally until he called Trump's behaviour 'weird', which has gone viral among Democrats.

While many political pundits see the significance of VP candidates on voters as being insignificant, it is worth noting that pollsters say Vance is the first vice presidential candidate to average a net negative favourability rating, due in part to his far-right political positions, offensive comments about women, childless people, and various minorities. He also failed to defend his wife - whose parents are Indian immigrants - against racist attacks from some Trump supporters. And while it is still early days for Walz, his midwestern background and track record as a liberal who regularly won in a conservative region has Democrats hopeful that he will attract both young liberals and 'middle America' conservatives into their fold.