Choosing a vice president
The most important decision a presidential candidate must make is choosing a running mate. For Kamala Harris, the choice came down to two popular governors: Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, and Minnesota’s Tim Walz.
Shapiro is relatively young and known as a politician who gets things done, vividly demonstrated by the repair of the collapsed section of I-95 in Philadelphia in less than two weeks, rather than the predicted months.
The only real problem for Shapiro in the selection process that unfolded earlier this month is he favors school choice and was very critical of the college protests supporting Palestine. His views might alienate some of the progressive left, but more importantly, reignite the Gaza issue that was splitting the Democratic Party and had hurt President Joe Biden in some key states, such as Michigan. While his selection might have ensured a win in Pennsylvania, he will be able to spend more time exclusively in the state campaigning for Harris by not being on the ticket.
Walz, who was born in rural Nebraska, represents constituents who have felt left out by the economic growth and political prominence of the East and West coasts. Before he entered politics, Walz was a high school geography teacher, football coach, and member of the National Guard. He then won a congressional seat in 2006 in a district Republican George W. Bush won in his presidential campaigns.
As a football coach, not only was Walz part of a program that went from winless to being state champions, but he also became the faculty advisor for the school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance in 1999, knowing the best way for them to gain acceptance was by having the support of the popular football coach. He also speaks Mandarin because he taught school for a year in China, which will be useful given China’s importance.
Another plus for Walz, who is 60, is that he is clearly happy to support Harris and seems to have no desire to be president. Shapiro is clearly ambitious, which might raise concerns about his willingness to play a supportive role in a Harris administration.
Mike Pence was Trump’s running mate in his 2016 and 2020 races, but after Trump pressured him to violate the Constitution on Jan. 6, 2021, Pence has refused to even endorse him, much less join him on the ticket. Since presidents began choosing their own vice presidents, instead of leaving it to the conventions of their respective parties, no vice president has ever refused to support their president. But this is a theme with Trump – many of the people he picked to serve him have been so appalled by seeing him operate up close that they do not think he should occupy the Oval Office again.
Trump’s final choice this time came down to three candidates, all senators: Tim Scott of South Carolina; Marco Rubio of Florida; and J.D. Vance of Ohio. Scott, who is Black, might have helped Trump get a larger share of the Black vote, and Rubio would have certainly helped Trump with Latinos. When Trump was making his selection, he was leading Biden in the polls, and some of that lead was due to the gains he made in those two communities. Choosing Vance showed Trump was not concerned about his running-mate pick helping him get elected; Trump does not need Vance to win Ohio and Vance is popular with the MAGA crowd, not the undecided, swing voters, so he’s pleasing existing Trump voters, not attracting new ones.
Vance, who grew up in working-class Ohio, could have also represented the same “forgotten” constituents as Walz. But Vance graduated from Yale Law School, moved to Silicon Valley and worked at a hedge fund where he became enthralled with Peter Thiel, the libertarian billionaire founder of PayPal, who funded Vance’s Ohio 2022 Senate campaign. Vance moved far away from his working-class roots, and in his popular book “Hillbilly Elegy,” he was highly critical of the culture that raised him.
Vance also has very little experience; he’s young and has only been in politics for a few years. While his graduation from Yale Law demonstrates that he’s a bright guy, he has struggled to connect with crowds at political events. Vance began as a Never-Trumper, calling Trump “unfit for the nation’s highest office”, but when he needed Trump’s support to win his Senate race, he changed his tune. Trump loves it when critics are forced to repent and ask for his forgiveness. Vance’s newfound loyalty was what made him most attractive to Trump.
As critics have pointed out how poorly Vance was doing with the public, Trump has seemed to have second thoughts about his choice. Given Trump’s age and diet, a Trump presidency could easily become a Vance presidency. When asked if the inexperienced Vance would be “ready on day one,” instead of saying “yes,” Trump seemed to deflect a perceived criticism of his picking Vance as his running mate, asserting that “the vice-president, in terms of the election, does not have any impact. I mean, virtually no impact.” That’s not a ringing endorsement.
People don’t generally vote for a ticket based on who the running mate is, but the choice does tell a lot about the candidate. Harris selected a popular governor who would appeal to voters who might not support her, while Trump selected an inexperienced opportunist who is driven by anger but appeals to his base.
Kent James is a member of East Washington’s borough council.