The 2024 vice presidential candidates have starkly contrasting views on issues key to voters this election cycle.
Former President Donald Trump tapped Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, to join him on the Republican ticket, while Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Walz and Vance share views and policy points that almost mirror those of their running mates, but the two are far apart on major issues affecting most Americans.
Here is where the two dueling candidates stand on top issues.
Immigration
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Walz has long supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and has worked to pass legislation allowing them to have more rights in the U.S.
Former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shakes hands with Senator from Ohio and 2024 Republican vice-president candidate JD Vance during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc., July 15, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Walz appeared to voice support for “sanctuary policies” in 2018, and in 2023 he signed legislation to allow illegal immigrants to obtain state drivers’ licenses. During his tenure as governor, Minnesota passed measures to make illegal immigrants eligible for tuition-free college under the North Star Promise program.
Vance supports securing the southern border through resuming construction of the Trump-era border wall. The senator has frequently criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis at the southern border.
“It’s hard to believe, until you see it with your own eyes, just how bad the policies of the Kamala Harris administration have been when it comes to the southern border,” Vance said during a recent visit to the border.
Abortion
In 2021, before joining the Senate, Vance wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that abortion is “the first political issue I can ever remember caring about.” Asked about the issue of abortion during his Senate debate in 2022, Vance said that he supports “some minimum national standard.”
He recently told “Meet the Press” that he supports the abortion pill mifepristone “being accessible,” after the Supreme Court ruled against pro-life advocates who sued to end its Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, before she delivers remarks at a campaign event, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wisc. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Walz signed the Protect Reproductive Options Act into law in 2023, a bill that codified abortion into the Minnesota state Constitution. The governor has also made efforts to establish protections for people traveling from out of state for an abortion.
During his first campaign rally with Harris, Walz emphasized his backing of in-vitro fertilization treatments (IVF), which he said his wife used before her pregnancy.
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Before joining forces on the 2024 ticket, Harris and Walz visited an abortion clinic together in March.
Second Amendment
Walz has said that he is a gun owner, but also supports imposing more restrictions on firearms, including enacting an AR-15 ban.
The governor signed a bill requiring more extensive background checks and a “red flag” law for gun purchases.
Vance, a firearm owner, is a strong 2nd Amendment supporter and frequently pushes back against the Biden administration’s stance on the issue.
Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) delivers remarks during a campaign rally at 2300 Arena on Aug. 6, 2024 in Philadelphia, Penn. Vance is campaigning in several battleground states, closely matching Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign schedule for this week. (Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
After being selected to run with Trump, Vance’s candidacy was praised by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA).
Israel
Vance has vocalized his support for Israel and continued U.S. funding to the IDF.
“As we watch this horrible situation in Israel unfold, Americans must face a stark truth: our tax dollars funded this. Money is fungible, and many of the dollars we sent to Iran are being used to now kill innocent people,” Vance said in an Oct. 7 post on X. “This must stop. Israel has every right to defend itself. I wish our friends well, but most of all, I wish they weren’t fighting against weapons bought with our money.”
Walz has also expressed support for Israel and its right to exist, while also sympathizing with those in Gaza.
“You can hold competing things: That Israel has the right to defend itself, and the atrocities of October 7 are unacceptable, but Palestinian civilians being caught in this . . . has got to end,” Walz said during an appearance on Minnesota Public Radio in March, according to a report from Al Jazeera.
Social Issues
Last year, Walz signed a bill that required schools to provide free menstrual products to students in grades 4 through 12, including in boys’ bathrooms.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign event on Aug. 7, 2024, in Detroit, Mich. (Andrew Harnik)
Minnesota became a “trans refuge state” after Walz signed an order allowing people, including children, from out of state to receive transgender surgical procedures and hormone prescriptions.
Walz also signed a controversial bill into law that prevents books, which may include explicit material, from being removed from public schools.
Vance introduced the Protect Children’s Innocence Act in 2023 that sought to make it a felony to perform any gender reassignment surgery on a minor.
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The senator is also vocal that “there are only two genders,” introducing legislation to require that passports reflect a person’s biological sex rather than their gender identity.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw, Jamie Joseph, and Michael Lee contributed to this report.
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