The choice of a running mate can add or subtract votes in a Presidential Election, so how do JD Vance & Tim Walz compare? The winner is…
Either J.D. Vance or Tim Walz will become the 50th Vice President in U.S. history. Only 9 of the preceding 49 were elevated to President because of the death or resignation of the incumbent—most recently in 1974 when Gerald Ford took over for Richard Nixon. As our first Vice President, John Adams, remarked about his job: “I have nothing to do.”
Vice Presidents used to be chosen to geographically balance the ticket, as in 1960 when John Kennedy (Massachusetts) surprised his campaign team by selecting Lyndon Johnson (Texas) to be his running mate.
Beginning in 1980, however, Vice Presidential candidates have more often been chosen because their political priorities were closely aligned with the Presidential candidate, e.g. Ronald Reagan choosing George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush choosing Dick Cheney.
This close alignment is very clear in the selections of Vance and Walz. It is fair to say that both men reflect and are in synch with the political priorities of Trump and Harris respectively.
How does Vance help us understand Trump?
As a U.S. Senator Vance focused on our open southern border (challenging Biden administration officials about their lack of action), worked with other Republican Senators to block the Biden administration’s most Progressive judicial nominees, and introduced legislation to block the proliferation of DEI programs within the Federal Government. Vance is on record as being Pro-Life, Pro-Fracking, and anti-electric vehicle mandates.
There is no wonder why Trump selected him.
How does Walz help us understand Harris?
As Minnesota’s Governor he called health care “a basic human right that the government should pay for,” supported abortion, supported a rapid transition to “clean energy” (signing legislation requiring all state utilities to use only green energy by 2040), signed legislation to reduce the number of people on probation or parole supervision, and waffled on his views regarding Israel and Hamas stating that Israel has a right to defend itself while demanding a cease fire.
In the wake of the 2020 George Floyd riots in Minneapolis Walz endorsed a package of progressive police reforms that included “alternatives to policing" and said "Minnesota will change the way we do policing.” Those changes included a call to create an Office of Community-Led Public Safety Coordination, which Walz said would “promote and monitor alternatives to traditional policing models” and award grants for “healing circles.” The result? Violent crime rates have increased in Minneapolis for 3 consecutive years as the police department was undermined by Walz.
Tim Walz is proud of his directive to put female product hygiene dispensers into the boys’ restrooms of Minnesota public high schools. During his second term as Governor he has signed legislation that enshrines abortion access, transgender protections, and paid leave that will be funded by increased taxes on corporations.
There is no wonder why Harris selected him.
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