With both major party conventions behind us, the tickets are now set for the presidential campaign. Both parties have nominated relative unknowns for the role of vice president: JD Vance for the Republicans, and Tim Walz for the Democrats. Now that both have been introduced to the country, who are these two men, and what paths did they take to get here?

JD Vance

Vance was born in 1984 in Middletown, Ohio, but was largely raised by his maternal grandparents and spent time living with extended family in Jackson, Kentucky. After high school he went to Iraq as a corporal in the Public Affairs section of the Marine Corps before returning to graduate from Ohio State University and attend Yale Law School. After briefly working for Peter Thiel’s venture capitalism firm Mithril, Vance made his first public splash when he published Hillbilly Elegy, his memoir about his upbringing in working-class Ohio. He achieved his first public office with his election to the US Senate from Ohio in 2022, helped by more than $10 million in funding from Thiel.

On The Issues

• Reproductive rights: Vance has described himself as “pro-life”, saying he would want the issue left up to states but also being open to the idea of some minimum national standard.
• Ukraine: Vance opposes continued aid from the US to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia and has urged President Biden to seek a peaceful agreement with Putin.
• Immigration: Vance supports the construction of a border wall on the US-Mexican border to solve the “crisis” of the border and has spoken in support of large-scale deportation activities.
• Gun control: Vance describes himself as a “big pro-Second Amendment guy”: he has opposed red flag gun laws, supported abolishing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), supported repealing the Guns Free Schools Act, and supported the Second Amendment Preservation Act to ban using federal funds to enforce gun control laws and regulations.
• Economy: Vance is a supporter of protectionist economic policies like those Trump has pursued, arguing for broad-based tariffs on goods from China and opposing globalization economic policies. His populist sentiment extends to taxes, signing a pledge to oppose tax increases but occasionally calling for tax increases in big corporations. He has also expressed support for antitrust efforts from Biden’s administration to break up perceived tech company monopolies. Vance also supports expanding the Child Tax Credit.
• Climate change: Vance has expressed doubts about the severity or existence of climate change as a problem, and he has actively supported policies and legislation to boost fracking and oil and gas. He also proposed a Drive America law that would replace federal tax credits for electric vehicles with credits for gas- and diesel-powered cars.

JD Vance is a relatively new figure in politics with only a brief record in public service behind him. He appears as someone who is generally in line with many of Donald Trump’s policies on economics, the environment, and gun control. His brief political career, however, along with an apparent transformation from a “Never Trump” Republican who called Trump “cultural heroin” and “America’s Hitler” leave some uncertainty about what his real policy views may be, and whether he had a true change of heart to agree with Trump or if he read political trends and shifted his positions to be on the “winning” side of Republican politics.

Tim Walz

Walz was born in Nebraska before moving to Minnesota. He worked in Minnesota as a geography teacher and assistant high school football coach, and served for twenty-four years in the Minnesota National Guard before retiring in 2005. He began his political career in 2006 when he ran for Congress and beat Republican Gil Gutknecht. As a representative he gained a reputation as a centrist who focused significantly on veterans’ affairs. Walz remained in Congress until 2018, when he ran for Minnesota’s governor and then was reelected as governor in 2022.

On The Issues

• Reproductive rights: Walz signed legislation as Minnesota’s governor to codify the right to an abortion and has discussed his family’s personal experience with assisted fertility procedures to express support for “pro-choice” reproductive rights.
• Ukraine: Walz has consistently expressed support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and has taken policy actions along those lines, signing a bill to withdraw Minnesota state investments from Russian entities and signing a memorandum of understanding for an agriculture partnership between Minnesota and Ukraine’s Chernihiv region.
• Immigration: Walz has criticized the idea of a border wall with Mexico, and supported the bipartisan Senate immigration bill that Trump was accused of scuttling earlier this year. As governor, he signed bills extending healthcare and public insurance to undocumented immigrants, as well as access to drivers’ licenses. While in Congress, Walz voted for legislation granting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants looking for college education or military service.
• Gun control: Walz describes himself as an avid hunter and received an A rating and endorsement from the NRA while in Congress. He changed his position on guns following the 2018 Parkland school shooting. As a congressman, Walz says he voted for universal background checks and banning arms sales to people on the no-fly list, supported legislation funding gun violence research by the CDC, and co-sponsored a bill banning bump stocks. As governor, he signed gun safety legislation in 2023 that established red flag laws, extended waiting periods for gun transfers, and expanded background checks, among other things.
• Economy: Walz has a track record of supporting Democratic-leaning economic policies. As governor, he signed bills guaranteeing paid family leave and medical leave, giving millions of dollars in tax credits to parents, and expanding affordable housing options. His Democratic record extends to labor, where his policies have largely been similar to Biden’s, building a record as union-friendly as governor. On taxes, Walz enacted policies seen by many as some of the most progressive in America, enacting new taxes on multinational corporations in a $3 billion tax package that expanded Minnesota’s child tax credit and credits for K-12 education expenses, as well as cutting taxes for Social Security recipients.
• Climate change: Walz’s environmental record has evolved over time. In Congress he voted to complete the Keystone XL pipeline, and as governor he angered some environmentalist groups with a reluctant or slow approach to banning mining in Minnesota. But Walz has also forcefully argued for stronger car pollution standards and a mandate for zero-carbon power by 2040. His recent actions and overall record lead climate experts and environmental advocates to call him the best VP candidate choice from an environmental perspective.

Tim Walz is a more established figure in American politics with nearly two decades of policy and voting records behind him. His positions have largely tracked the Democratic party line, with apparent evolutions occurring on some issues including guns and climate change. His time as Minnesota’s governor seems to have cemented him as a serious proponent of progressive policies, from actions on gun control to the economy. His political brand may be seen as appealing to voters on both the left and right, but the remaining campaign will determine whether those on the further ends of either side will embrace his particular identity.

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