WASHINGTON (AP) — Tim Walz and JD Vance have catapulted themselves from national obscurity as they rush to introduce themselves to the country. But the Ohio senator got off to a rockier start than the Minnesota governor.
A survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that Walz got off to a smoother start as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate than Vance did for former President Donald Trump. About a third of U.S. adults (36%) have a positive opinion of Walz, who will introduce his party when he speaks at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. About a quarter (27%) have a positive opinion of Vance. Significantly more adults also have a negative opinion of Vance than Walz, 44% to 25%.
Both are very popular within their own parties so far, and independents have a slightly more positive opinion of Walz than of Vance, but most do not yet know enough about either.
Both vice presidential candidates still have work to do to become more well-known – about 4 in 10 Americans don’t know enough about Walz to form an opinion about him, and about 3 in 10 don’t know enough about Vance. Yet both are much better known than they were before they were nominated as vice presidential candidates.
Democrats like Walz, but many important groups don’t know enough
As Walz prepares to speak at the convention, about 6 in 10 Democrats said they have a favorable opinion of him, including about 4 in 10 whose opinion is “very favorable.” About 3 in 10 don’t know him well enough to have an opinion, the first measure of Walz’s popularity in an AP-NORC poll. but other surveys showed Before his election, he was virtually unknown nationwide.
Many key Democratic coalitions still don’t know much about Walz. About 4 in 10 women don’t know enough to form an opinion about him, and about 4 in 10 young adults under 45 say the same. About half of black adults and about 4 in 10 Hispanic adults also don’t know enough to say whether they like him. Many low-income adults and those without college degrees also have no opinion of Walz.
Data from AP VoteCast shows that Walz won in his 2022 run for governor with the support of women, young voters, union households, suburbanites and people in urban areas. He split support among white voters and men – two groups where the Harris-Walz team will try to undermine Trump’s lead. He lost rural voters in the state as well as households with war veterans.
Samantha Phillis, a 33-year-old nurse and mother of four from Mankato, Minnesota, has known Walz for years. She attended Mankato West High School when Walz was a teacher there, and she was a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance when he was a faculty adviser there. Since becoming governor, she said, his actions on behalf of three of her disabled children have been “terrific.” As a mother, she appreciated his program to provide free school meals for children.
“He’s been a great asset to Mankato West and we’re huge fans of his. As far as Minnesota goes, he’s done great things for my family,” Phillis said. “I’m really encouraged to see how he could help Kamala Harris as her vice president.”
Phillis said she always intended to vote for the Democratic candidate, but was impressed by the energy and momentum Walz brought to the campaign.
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“Now that Governor Walz is on the ballot, I’m all in.”
Vance’s popularity among Republicans has increased
The new AP-NORC poll shows that Republicans have gotten to know Vance better and developed a generally favorable opinion in the weeks since he was named Trump’s running mate. About 6 in 10 Republicans now have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Vance, a sharp increase since a mid-July poll conducted before the Ohio senator was chosen. announced as Trump’s vice presidential candidateIn that poll, only about three in 10 had a favorable opinion of him, and about six in 10 Republicans said they did not know enough about Vance to form an opinion.
According to a recent poll, about two in 10 Republicans have an unfavorable opinion of Vance, and about a quarter say they do not know enough about him to form an opinion.
Adults over 45 are slightly more likely to have a positive opinion of Vance than younger adults, 32% to 22%.
Data from AP VoteCast shows that when Vance ran for Senate in Ohio in 2022, he received the support of many groups that have become the bedrock of Trump’s political base. About 6 in 10 male voters in the state supported Vance, as did voters age 45 and older. He also performed better among young men compared with Republicans nationally. About 6 in 10 male voters under 30 voted for Vance in Ohio, compared with about half of Republican candidates nationwide.
Mary Lynch, a 62-year-old Republican from Marquette, Michigan, said she has followed Vance through television interviews since he ran for Senate. She said her positive opinion of him has only grown the more she learns about him. She appreciates his support for family-related policies, such as anti-abortion measures and school choice.
Lynch supported Republican Nikki Haley during the primaries, but she plans to vote for Trump in November. She likes Trump’s policies, but she has issues with his personality. She sees Vance as a strong future leader of the Republican Party.
“I really like (Vance’s) personality. He says things nicer. He doesn’t exaggerate,” Lynch said. “If Trump wins with JD Vance, I look forward to JD Vance running next as a presidential candidate.”
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The survey of 1,164 adults was conducted August 8-12, 2024. The sample came from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is intended to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
