There is a notable gap between favorability of the vice presidential nominees in the 2024 election . Sen. J.D. Vance has held at a 32 percent favorability rating from early August to later in the month, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday reveals.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz increased his favorability from 39 percent in the polling on August 13 compared to the 42 percent he now boasts in the post-Democratic National Convention survey. The 10 point split exhibits the boost that Walz might be able to give Vice President Kamala Harris – as is further evident by him joining the nominee last week for her first and only sit-down interview so far since entering the race in late July.
Despite this gap, there is still a large consensus that the running mate doesn’t make or break a presidential campaign. The co-author of Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections noted that it’s quite normal for VP candidates to be ‘less popular’ than the ticket lead. ‘They’re less of a way of appealing to Americans kind of broadly,’ Christopher Devine said, adding: ‘They’re really popular within their own party.’
Vance and Walz supposedly bring the same thing to their respective tickets. They are both white men from the midwest who come from blue collar, working class backgrounds. The new polling includes approximately one in four voters who are not prepared to levy an opinion of either the Republican or Democratic VP nominees.
Vance just joined Trump’s campaign during the Republican National Convention in July – and Harris announced Walz as her running mate on August 6, which was less than two weeks before the Democratic National Convention.
Walz, besides holding a favorability lead, also holds the advantage over Vance when it comes to the number of Americans who think the vice presidential nominees are ready to take over as president if needed.
Forty-one percent of Americans polled by ABC News/Ipsos say they are ‘confident’ that Vance is prepared to take over at the helm should he need to take over for Trump. And 49 percent feel the same way about Walz.
Vance, 40, began his first elected position in 2023 when he was elected as a U.S. Senator from Ohio. Before that he was a Marine, author and venture capitalist who earned his law degree from Yale.
On the other hand, Walz, 60, has more than a decade in public office. The former school teacher and Army veteran served as a U.S. Representative from Minnesota’s first congressional district from 2007 through 2019. He left his seat in the House when he won his campaign for governor of Minnesota, where he has served since.
