45th President of the United States Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris have both selected their running mates and officially secured their parties’ nominations as they head to a match-up in the general election set to take place November 5th. Harris chose Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota and Trump chose James David Vance, shortened to JD, a United States Senator from Ohio.
Senator JD Vance was born in the city of Middletown, Ohio, and grew up in poverty in rural Ohio and was raised by his grandmother for most of his childhood. Upon graduation from high school, he joined the United States Marine Corps at age 19. He served in the Iraq War for the next 4 years until leaving the military to attend Ohio State University from 2007-2009, with a bachelor’s in political science and philosophy. After graduation, he attended Yale from 2010-2013 in which he received his Doctorate in Law. In June of 2016, Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy was published and gained widespread media attention due to its portrayal of life in rural America. In 2022, Vance decided to run for an open US Senate seat in the state of Ohio, where he won by roughly six points. Now, two years later, he has been selected to support Trump in his run for President.
Harris’s choice, Governor Tim Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska, a rural community where his father was a teacher. Following graduation, he enlisted in the National Guard and attended Chadron State College, where he graduated in 1989 with a bachelor’s in social science. Following graduation, Walz became a teacher and football coach and moved to Minnesota alongside his newly wedded wife in 1994. In 2001, Walz earned a Master of Science from Minnesota State University. In 2005, Walz retired from the National Guard to focus on his 2006 congressional campaign for Minnesota’s first congressional district. Walz ended up winning the seat and served from 2007 until 2019. In 2018, Walz ran for Governor of the State of Minnesota and has served since 2019. He won re-election in 2022 and has been selected to serve on the Democratic Nomination for President alongside Harris.
The choices can either attract voters or shift them away due to policy with both sides having already attacked the other candidates’ choice of policy, and the issues are expected to ramp up with the election being roughly 2 months out from now. The Republicans have attacked Walz for what he has done during his tenure as Governor whereas the Democrats have attacked Vance for his lack of experience and what he’s voted on during his tenure as a US Senator.
