2024 VP debate: Voters have more favorable view of Walz than Vance, polls show
WASHINGTON - The highly anticipated CBS News Vice Presidential Debate will be held at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
It's the one and only time Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz and Republican VP nominee J.D. Vance will face off ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Who is Tim Walz?
Vice President Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Aug. 6, just over two weeks after President Joe Biden ended his campaign for re-election.
Walz was elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and reelected in 2022 after serving several years as U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s First Congressional District. Before that, he was a teacher, coach and member of the Army National Guard.
As governor, Walz has touted his accomplishments including providing free school meals to all students in Minnesota, protecting reproductive freedom, cutting taxes for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for workers, among other policies.
In addition to being the governor, he is also the co-chair of the Democratic Convention Rules Committee.
A file image shows Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during a news conference on Monday, April 20, 2020 in St. Paul, Minn. (Scott Takushi, pool / MediaNews Group / St. Paul Pioneer Press via Getty Images)
Walz was born in Nebraska and after high school, he enlisted in the Army National Guard. He graduated from Chadron State College with a social science degree in 1989. He then spent a year teaching abroad before returning home to serve full-time in the National Guard and teach high school, as well as accept a coaching position.
Walz is married to Gwen Walz. They moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where they both worked at Mankato High School, where he taught social studies and helped coach the Mankato West football team.
He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, representing Minnesota’s First Congressional District, and was reelected for another five terms before running for governor of Minnesota.
Who is J.D. Vance?
Former President Donald Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate on July 15.
Vance is 39 years old and was elected senator of the Buckeye State in 2022, defeating Democratic nominee Tim Ryan.
The junior senator became a well-known name after his memoir, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ came out in 2016.
The 39-year-old’s memoir, published the year Trump was elected, covered the childhood years he spent in Jackson, Kentucky, raised by his "Mamaw" and "Papaw" as his mother battled drug addiction.
The book was later turned into a Netflix film, further pushing him into the spotlight.
Vance was once a self-described "Never Trumper."
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KENOSHA, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 20: Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) addresses the audience at a campaign rally on August 20, 2024 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Vance is campaigning in several battleground states as part of hi
"I’m a Never Trump guy," Vance said in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2016. "I never liked him."
The Ohio native harshly denounced Trump on Twitter during his 2016 campaign, calling him a "moral disaster" and "just another opioid" for Middle America.
Vance also wrote privately on Facebook in 2016 to his former law school roommate, Josh McLaurin, that he "goes back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler."
But in the past 18 months, he's recast himself as one of Trump’s staunchest MAGA allies, demonstrating loyalty to the former president and downplaying the events of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Who is more favorable?
While most polls show Walz as a more favorable vice presidential candidate than Vance, a Gallup poll shows that less than half of registered voters nationally have a positive view of the VP picks.
A poll conducted by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released Sept. 24 showed that Vance is viewed less favorably than Walz. About half of registered voters – 51% – have an unfavorable view of Vance compared to 32% of registered voters who viewed Walz unfavorably.
Walz also has a stronger lead among voters in his own party with 72% of registered Democratic voters holding a favorable view of him and just 9% with an unfavorable view. In comparison, 57% of Republican voters have a favorable view of Vance and 18% hold an unfavorable view.
A Pew Research Study showed a much smaller gap between the two candidates – although it still put Walz ahead of Vance. According to their survey, 34% of Americans view Vance favorably while 39% of Americans see Walz favorably.
The Pew study shows that when it comes to gender, there's a deep divide. About four in ten women – 38% – view Walz favorably while support for Vance among women is nearly the opposite – 29% have a favorable view of Vance while 40% have an unfavorable view.
A New York Times/Siena College poll out Sept. 28 also found that the key Midwestern voter base prefers Walz over Vance. Walz was viewed favorably by 44% of those voters and unfavorably by 41%, while Vance was viewed favorably by 42% of voters and unfavorably by 48%.
It also found among voters nationwide, more people find Vance unfavorable than Walz, with 32% of respondents saying they have an unfavorable opinion of Walz and 57% saying the same about Vance.
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