The vice-presidential candidates
Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and National Guard veteran, has been chosen as Kamala Harris' running mate, representing progressive leadership deeply rooted in community values.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, has selected JD Vance, Ohio senator and bestselling author, who has emerged as a conservative voice made famous by his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy."
The two embody nearly opposite visions of America and will play a significant role in the presidential race.
As described by the Star Tribune, this term reflects “Minnesotans’ tendency to be polite and friendly, yet emotionally reserved; our penchant for self-deprecation and unwillingness to draw attention to ourselves; and, most controversially, our maddening habit of substituting passive-aggressiveness for direct confrontation”.
Much of this rings true for Walz, who, despite being born in Nebraska, has gained popularity through his cheerful and approachable demeanor. His amiable nature even enhances his political jabs, such as when he criticized Donald Trump and JD Vance as being “weird”, a move that contributed to his consideration as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris.
Walz's background as a high school football coach reflects a more assertive side, focusing on active aggression rather than passive. He spent over ten years as the defensive coordinator at Mankato West High School, where his task was to devise strategies to stop opposing teams.
Speaking on Pod Save America, Walz recalled the team’s losing streak of 27 consecutive games when he first arrived, which he helped turn around. Three years later, they became state champions and are now regarded as a football powerhouse.
Walz once said: “A town that small had services like that and had a public school with a government teacher that inspired me to be sitting where I’m at today. Those are real stories in small towns.”
Before stepping into the political arena, Walz was a high school social studies teacher and an advisor to LGBTQ+ students. In 2006, he unseated a Republican incumbent in a rural district to secure a spot in Congress. After serving six terms in the U.S. House, he ran for governor of Minnesota in 2018 and won by 11 points against Republican Jeff Johnson.
His first term included navigating challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, enforcing lockdowns, and addressing the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder—a pivotal event that placed Minneapolis at the heart of global movements for racial justice while also sparking riots. Walz comfortably won his re-election campaign in 2022, defeating Scott Jensen.
After his 2022 victory over Jensen, Walz told Minnesotans they had "made a conscious choice to reject divisive politics and embrace a collective path forward”. Supporters of Harris’s decision to select Walz as a running mate praised his progressive achievements. Youth-led group NextGen PAC highlighted Walz's legislative successes, which include passing laws that protect rights, support climate justice, and strengthen the economy for everyday people. These accomplishments include safeguarding abortion rights, establishing paid sick and family leave, implementing a state-leading child tax credit, and enacting over 40 climate-related initiatives.
Walz has also championed gun control reform, which is noteworthy given his previous endorsement by the National Rifle Association. His daughter played a significant role in his shift toward advocating for an assault weapons ban, especially after a spate of school shootings.
Harris's announcement of Walz as her running mate sparked predictable backlash from conservative circles. In an attack similar to JD Vance’s criticisms, the Republican National Committee labeled Walz as a "far-left radical" who is soft on border security (referring to the southern U.S. border rather than Minnesota’s northern one).
They criticized his support for universal healthcare, increased taxation for social programs, and his stance on abortion and voting rights. Additionally, they accused him of being "extremely woke" and a "climate radical" pushing to phase out fossil fuels, as well as being lenient on crime.
Walz spent 24 years in the National Guard, first in Nebraska and later in Minnesota. At 17, encouraged by his father, a Korean War veteran, Walz enlisted as an infantryman, later using the GI Bill to put himself through college. Following 9/11, he re-enlisted and participated in operations during domestic natural disasters and in Italy, supporting Afghanistan-related missions. He retired in 2005 as a command sergeant major, just as his unit prepared for deployment to Iraq.
Walz, the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to serve in Congress, reflected on his service during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating: “In the guard, you put your community first. Everything you do, you do to ensure the health, safety and security of the people who are depending on you. And as governor, those are principles of servant leadership that I rely on every day”.
Through a Harvard-run program, Walz spent a year teaching in China in 1989, a significant period marked by the Tiananmen Square protests and the subsequent violent government crackdown. This experience allowed him to learn some Mandarin. In 1994, Walz and his wife, Gwen, even spent their honeymoon in China, leading a student trip they had organized. They continued to arrange similar trips until 2003.
Walz’s wife shares his passion for public service. As a public school teacher and a strong advocate for educational reform, she has focused on improving education within prisons as a strategy for reducing recidivism.
The couple has two children, Hope, 23, and Gus, 17, both born through in vitro fertilization (IVF) – a procedure under threat by conservative lawmakers following the overturning of federal abortion rights. In March, Walz reflected on the issue, stating, “If you have never personally gone through the hell of infertility, I guarantee you someone you know has”.
In 1995, when Walz was 31, he was pulled over for driving 156 km/h in an 89 km/h zone zone. After failing a sobriety test, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving and paid a $200 fine. He has since acknowledged the incident and stated that he no longer drinks alcohol. His preferred beverage these days? Diet Mountain Dew—coincidentally, the same drink favored by JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential pick.
At birth, he was called James Donald Bowman. After his mother remarried, his name changed to James David Hamel, and it was later changed again.
Vance longed for a role model, especially after his biological father left when he was six. “It was the saddest I had ever felt,” he shared in his memoir. Of all the struggles from his early life, “nothing compared to the revolving door of father figures,” he wrote.
Vance’s relationship with his mother was also strained, as she was married five times. A particularly distressing memory from his book involves an incident when, as a young boy, he was in a car with his mother. During one of her abusive episodes, she accelerated to what felt like an extreme speed, threatening to crash and kill them both. After slowing down to physically strike him, Vance managed to escape from the car and sought refuge at a neighbor's house, who called the police.
He was largely brought up by his grandparents, whom he referred to as "mamaw" and "papaw" in the regional dialect. Vance spoke of his grandmother’s admiration for Bill Clinton and how his grandfather, while mostly loyal to the Democrats, voted for Ronald Reagan once. In an interview, Vance said, “The people who raised me were classic blue-dog Democrats, union Democrats. They loved their country and held socially conservative views.”
He didn’t support Donald Trump in 2016 and cast his vote for independent candidate Evan McMullin instead. However, he said he understood why people were drawn to Trump. Vance had even predicted that Trump might secure the Republican nomination in 2016, although he doubted Trump would win the presidency. Reflecting on this in an interview the following year, Vance admitted: “It’s incredible. As much as I anticipated Trump securing the nomination, I was completely wrong about his chances in the general election”.
Vance later removed his older social media posts criticizing Trump, where he had previously referred to Trump as “cultural heroin” and speculated if he might become “America’s Hitler”.
J.D. Vance once admired former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, a well-known centrist, and considered him his "political hero." Daniels, who is respected for his moderate and pragmatic approach to governance, served as a role model for Vance early in his political journey. However, as Vance's political views and rhetoric shifted over time, Daniels expressed disappointment. In 2022, Daniels remarked that Vance had taken a "different direction" from his original centrist leanings, calling the shift "a little regrettable".
In 2019, Vance was baptized into the Catholic Church. He chose St. Augustine as his patron saint. “Augustine gave me a way to understand Christian faith in a strongly intellectual way,” he explained in an interview that year. “I also went through an angry atheist phase. As someone who spent a lot of his life buying into the lie that you had to be stupid to be a Christian, Augustine really demonstrated in a moving way that that’s not true.”
Narya Capital takes its name from The Lord of the Rings lore. Narya, one of the three Elven rings of power from J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, was worn by the wizard Gandalf during the Third Age. Through this firm, Vance has invested in various ventures, including a Catholic prayer and meditation app, as well as Rumble, a right-wing video-sharing platform.
In his book, he wrote: “I lived among the newly christened members of what folks back home pejoratively call the ‘elites,’ and by every outward appearance, I was one of them: I am a stale, white, straight male. I have never felt out of place in my entire life. But I did at Yale.” It’s at Yale that he met his wife, Usha. They married in Kentucky in 2013 and were blessed by a Hindu pundit.
Vance has often promoted conservative perspectives on marriage and the role of women in society. He believes in traditional gender roles, suggesting that women should prioritize motherhood over careers. In his rhetoric, Vance has criticized Democratic leaders, referring to them disparagingly as “childless cat ladies,” which reflects his disdain for what he perceives as modern, progressive values.
Vance has also voiced strong opinions on the cultural narrative surrounding women's roles in the workforce. He has argued that it is misguided to consider it empowering for women to work long hours in high-stress jobs, like those at The New York Times or Goldman Sachs, while dismissing the importance of motherhood. In his view, society has been deceived into thinking that a demanding corporate career is more liberating for women than becoming mothers. He suggests that this worldview undermines family values and misleads women about what should be prioritized in life.
The 2020 movie featured Glenn Close as Mamaw and Amy Adams as Vance’s mother, with Ron Howard directing. Howard kept the film largely free from political discussions, but it still faced significant backlash and was widely criticized. A New York Times critic described it as an odd mix of melodrama, moralizing, and unintentional humor.
