Over the summer, both presidential candidates Kamala Harris (Democratic nominee) and Donald Trump (Republican nominee) had eagerly chosen their running mates. As we are getting close to another intense presidential election, it is important to get to know who both running mates are prior to voting. Harris has chosen Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota and Trump has chosen JD Vance, a United States senator from Ohio.
Before Tim Walz was the Minnesota governor, he was enlisted in the Army National Guard and was a high school teacher. Walz served in several different units and jobs for 25 years in the Army National Guard until 2005 where he was ranked as a Master Sergeant. Walz taught geography at Mankato West High School while also being involved with other factors of the school. He was the football coach and was the first faculty advisor of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club in the 1990s. Forbes has also stated that before Walz was coach, the team had lost 27 games straight until Walz showed up and carried the team to victory.
Walz met his wife, Gwen Whipple Walz, while coaching a girl’s basketball team at a school in Alliance, Nebraska, before teaching at Mankato West. They now have two children together, Hope and Gus Walz. According to MinnPost, Walz is chair of the Democratic Governors Association and co-chair of the Rules Committee for the Democratic National Convention and Democratic National Committee. Since being elected Governor of Minnesota in 2019, Walz has had many different accomplishments. These include establishing paid leave, reproductive freedom and more which can be found on mn.gov.
Trump’s pick, JD (James David) Vance initially reached popularity after he released his memoir in 2016 named Hillbilly Elegy which was later adapted into a film. According to CBS News, Vance’s memoir details “Vance’s personal story against the backdrop of the struggles of Appalachia and Rust Belt America.” Vance holds a law degree from Yale University, where he graduated in 2013. However, before Vance attended college, he served in Iraq with the Marine Corps.
While studying law at Yale, he met his wife, Usha Chilukuri. They married a year after their graduation and now have three children together named Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel. Then, Vance became a United States senator in 2023. As a senator, according to Spectrumnews1, Vance has “focused his attention on blocking more aid to Ukraine and reforming railway safety rules after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio last year.” Despite Vance’s previous negative comments about Trump, Vance will still be running alongside Trump in the upcoming election.
Both Tim Walz and JD Vance are expected to debate on Tuesday, October 1 at 9:00 p.m. EST. The debate will take place in New York City and you are able to watch it live on CBS News.
jcaramag@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @occupydemocrats, X
