The United States is gearing up for presidential elections in November and campaign rallies are in full swing. The Republican contender, former leader Donald Trump, has chosen J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential running mate, while Democratic candidate and current Vice-President Kamala Harris has chosen Tim Walz. RFI takes a closer look at their profiles.
When Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her vice-presidential running mate for the November elections, she described him as "a battle tested leader who has an incredible track record of getting things done.
"I know that he will bring that same principled leadership to our campaign, and to the office of the vice president," Harris said as she geared up for the party's convention, set for 19 August.
Harris' choice of Walz (60) is clearly made to counter Trump's VP pick, the young JD Vance (39,) who rose from the ranks of poor working class, middle America seen as crucial to tip the balance in the upcoming elections.
'Hillbillies' take centre stage
Vance was raised in Middletown, Ohio. He joined the Marines and served in Iraq, and later earned degrees from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He also worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
He first rose to national prominence with his bestseller Hillbilly Elegy, which was published in 2016, coinciding with Trump running for his first presidency.
The book found a place in the New York Times bestseller list, and introduced life of the "redneck" working class of Appalachian America to New York businessmen and San Francisco intellectuals.
The book (which was also turned into a Netflix movie starring Amy Adams and Glen Close) describes life at society's underbelly, and recounts how Vance was brought up be his tough talking, gun toting grandmother as his mother was facing problems with heroin addiction.
The book got the attention of Trump, who thought Vance was ideal to garner support from working class people.
Initially, Vance was a "never Trump" Republican in 2016. He called Trump "dangerous" and "unfit" for office.
Vance, whose wife, lawyer Usha Chilukuri Vance, is Indian American and the mother of their three children, also criticised Trump’s racist rhetoric, saying he could be "America’s Hitler".
But by the time Vance met Trump in 2021, he had reversed his opinion, citing Trump’s accomplishments as President. Both men downplayed Vance’s past scathing criticism.
"What you see is some really profound opportunism," said David Niven, an associate professor of politics at the University of Cincinnati who has worked as a speechwriter for two Democratic governors.
One issue where his position lines up with Trump is abortion.
Vance implied in a 2021 interview that victims of rape and incest should be required to carry pregnancies to term, and in November he described a vote by Ohioans to add the right to abortion care to the state's constitution as a "gut punch."
Diametrically opposite views
Born in West Point, Nebraska, Tim Walz joined the Army National Guard and became a teacher. He and his wife moved to Mankato in southern Minnesota in the 1990s, where he taught social studies and coached football. Walz also served 24 years in the Army National Guard, rising to command sergeant major.
Walz's views are diametrically opposite to those of Vance and Trump. He signed legislation supporting abortion rights, cancelled virtually all of Minnesota's restrictions, while adding protection for patients coming in from states where abortion is banned.
He fought to promulgate legal protection for Minnesota's LGBTQ+ rights on gender-affirming health care, obtained tax credits for below-the-povertyline families with children and free school meals for all kids regardless of family income.
Walz legalised recreational marijuana for adults, restored rights of convicted felons to vote upon release from prison while his wife Gwen used her position to push for gun safety measures, including universal background checks.
Walz himself comes from a relatively modest family, his father being an army veteran and school superintendent.
"Tim Walz is exactly what JD Vance is pretending to be," according to MSNBC political commentator Claire McCaskill.
While Trump and Harris have agreed, in principle, to hold their first debate on 10 September, no dates have been set yet for the two candidates for the vice-presidency.
Turning tide?
One thing is certain, since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month, Kamala Harris has turned the race for the White House upside down, raking in donations and erasing Trump's lead in the polls.
Trump is described in US media reports as angry at how his campaign is now performing against Harris and how it dominates news coverage.
He is also reportedly unhappy with Vance, who has been described as a lackluster public speaker and making a poor impression with voters.
According to the latest polls released on Saturday, Harris now leads Trump with an identical 50 percent to 46 percent margin in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all considered crucial battleground states.
(With newswires)
