Most Americans don’t know who Kamala’s VP is and are shocked to discover his age

Vice President Kamala Harris’ new running mate is struggling with name recognition.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been selected to run alongside Harris, the vice president announced Tuesday morning. He will make his first appearance with the presidential candidate at a rally in Philadelphia later in the event.

But Walz’s awareness among Americans and his popularity rating are far lower than those of Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

In addition, the 60-year-old Walz has been criticized for looking older than his age.

But the governor said on X that this is because he went bald after “overseeing the lunchroom for 20 years.”

Harris, 59, narrowed her list of running mates earlier this week to just three white, male politicians and considered bringing on board Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

Meanwhile, many more Americans know the name of Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio)

But a poll by NPR/PBS News/Marist National reveals that despite her choice of Walz, a whopping 71 percent of Americans have either never heard of him or don’t know how to rate the progressive governor.

Only 17 percent of American residents surveyed have a positive opinion of Walz, and 12 percent say they have a negative opinion of him.

Meanwhile, Senator Kelly and Governor Shapiro have greater name recognition and are much more popular.

Vance is much better known among Americans, according to a survey conducted in early August and published Tuesday.

Only 23 percent of respondents do not know who Vance is or whether they would rate him positively or negatively.

Though he has only been in the Senate since last year, Vance gained notoriety through his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which was made into a Netflix film starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close as the senator’s mother and grandmother.

Vance has a popularity rating of 34 percent, but more people — 43 percent — view him negatively in Marist’s new poll.

Some Democrats hoped Harris would pick a No. 2 candidate from a swing state, such as Shapiro in Pennsylvania or Kelly in Arizona, to secure a state crucial to victory in November.

Senator JD Vance holds a press conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ahead of Harris and Walz’s meeting in the city for their first joint campaign rally

Harris announced Tuesday that she had selected Walz as her choice for vice president

Shapiro has a positive rating of 25 percent and a negative rating of 23 percent. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they had never heard of him or were unsure how they would rate him.

And Kelly was the most popular among Democratic vice presidential candidates, at 31 percent, while only 18 percent disliked the former astronaut.

Yet Senator Kelly does not have enough name recognition or influence to warrant the opinion of 52 percent of respondents.

Democrats hope Walz will appeal to voters in crucial Midwestern states.

But Minnesota, though a Midwestern state, is not seen as the same as other swing states in the region, such as Michigan and Wisconsin, because the state leans more to the left — especially in the 2020 election.