Vice President Kamala Harris‘ newly tapped running mate, Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is known by fewer Americans but is viewed more favorably than former President Donald Trump‘s vice presidential pick, Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance, according to polls.
CNN on Tuesday reported that Harris has picked Walz as her running mate, citing four people “close to the process.” Newsweek could not independently verify the report. Walz is expected to join Harris later in the day at a rally in Philadelphia, a crucial battleground state that could play a key roll in determining the outcome of the election, before kicking off a tour of swing states across the country.
Walz’s supporters believe he can bolster Harris’ support among rural voters in the Midwest and Rust Belt, home to swing states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, without alienating more progressive voters who have opposed the Biden administration’s policies on issues like Israel.
Although Minnesota is viewed as more Democratic-leaning than the other midwestern swing states, Democrats are hoping his appeal with voters in the state will translate to other battlegrounds in the region.
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Head-to-head polls of Walz versus Vance have not been conducted or released as of Tuesday, but recent surveys do share some insights about how Americans perceive the two candidates.
A Marist poll released on Tuesday found that Walz has lower name recognition than Vance. However, Vance received a higher unfavorable rating from voters. The poll surveyed 1,613 adults from August 1 to August 4 and the results are “significantly within” plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
The poll found that 71 percent of Americans said they have not heard of Walz or don’t know enough about him to decide how they view him. Seventeen percent of respondents said they view him favorably, while 12 percent said they view him unfavorably, according to the poll.
Meanwhile, 34 percent of respondents said they view Vance favorably, while 43 percent view him unfavorably, according to the poll. In July, 28 percent said they viewed him favorably, compared to 31 percent who viewed him unfavorably. Twenty-three percent of respondents are not sure how they view the Ohio senator, according to the survey.
Other than the Marist poll, national polling on Walz is scarce.
In February, 55 percent of Minnesota voters gave Walz a positive approval rating, while 39 percent said they disapproved of him, according to KAAL-TV, citing a poll from Saint Paul-based news outlet KSTP.
More national polls about Vance have been conducted after Trump announced him as his running mate amid the Republican National Convention (RNC) last month.
A YouGov/The Economist poll conducted among 1,610 registered voters from July 27 to July 30 found that 48 percent of respondents viewed Vance unfavorably, while 39 percent viewed him favorably.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted among 1,025 Americans between July 26 and July 28 found that 42 percent of respondents viewed him unfavorably, compared to 34 percent who viewed him favorably.
Newsweek reached out to the Harris and Trump campaigns for comment via email.
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