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WASHINGTON – Tim Walz and JD Vance are set to face off on Tuesday in the only debate for the vice-presidential hopeful during the razor-thin race until the November election.
Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, and Vance, the Republican senator from Ohio, are expected to play the political attack dog.
Todd Graham, a debate professor at Southern Illinois University, said Walz has one main job: keep saying Vance is too weird for the White House.
“Vance is going to say, basically show, ‘I’m not weird and I can be trusted to be president,'” he said.
That might seem like an odd prediction for the focus of a vice-presidential debate, but Walz rose to national prominence by labeling rival Republicans as “weird.”
That is the most successful attack for the Democrats after a turbulent summer that began with a disastrous debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden and the president pulling himself out of the race.
It was also a contributing factor to Vice President Kamala Harris bringing Walz onto the revived Democratic ticket in August.
The attack has focused particularly on Vance for his comments on abortion, on “childless cat ladies” and his previous suggestions that political leaders who did not have biological children do not really have a “direct stake” in the country.
Memes and online videos have targeted those comments, as well as Vance’s interactions with voters, including a viral encounter at a donut shop.
But he has also shown that he can avoid criticism and has doubled down on controversial comments.
He stood up against a false claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio eat pets, something Trump repeated during the presidential debate earlier this month.
Officials in Springfield said there was no evidence that was true, but Vance told CNN on Sept. 15 that he heard first-hand reports from constituents and blamed the news media for ignoring immigration issues.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance said.
He could prove to be a fierce opponent for Walz, said Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan.
“Both of them can deliver sharp barbs and give exchanges, but they can do it with a smile,” Kall said.
Vance, 40, rose to fame with the 2016 publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” Previously a critic of Trump, he was elected to the US Senate in 2022 after becoming one of the former president’s strongest supporters.
He was chosen to connect with white working-class voters important to Trump’s chances in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Those states swung Republican when Trump won in 2016, and in 2020 they helped put Biden in the White House.
Democrats are hoping 60-year-old Walz’s “Minnesota nice” demeanor, history as a football coach and plain presentation will connect with those same critical voters.
Graham said that the two will have three tasks in the debate: defend the top of their ticket, attack the top of the other ticket and prove that they can be president if they have to step in.
While Trump won the June debate against Biden, political experts have said that Harris dominated when the two ended.
Trump balked at the size of the crowd at his rallies and the 2020 loss, mired in tirades far from his intended goals of focusing on immigration and the economy.
Vance is unlikely to fall for the same strategy.
“No matter what Walz tries to say, he’s not going to fall for that bait. He’s going to stick to the problems,” Kall said.
Both vice-presidential picks have ties to Canada. Walz’s province shares an 885-kilometre border with Ontario and Manitoba. Not too long ago he was throwing around a football with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Meanwhile, Vance went to university with Durham Conservative MP Jamil Jivani. Jivani has called Vance his best friend from Yale and performed a reading from the Bible at the American politician’s wedding.
But both parties have introduced policies that experts have called defendants. Trump has reiterated plans for a 10 percent tariff on imports and Vance is a vocal opponent of US military aid to Ukraine to deter a Russian invasion.
Last week, Harris pointed out that she was one of 10 US senators to vote against the Canada-US-Mexico deal under Trump, saying it was insufficient to protect American workers. If he becomes president, Harris said, he will push for a review of the trade agreement in 2026.
Matthew Lebo, an expert in US politics at Western University in London, Ont., said Canadians watching Tuesday’s debate are unlikely to glean many details about those trade policies. Walz and Vance will talk about personal economic issues and inflation to connect with American voters.
“In an election that is so close, the VP can reflect on the verdict of the presidential choice,” said Lebo.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 30, 2024.
— With files from The Associated Press
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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