Walz takes on fellow midwesterner JD Vance ahead on popularity, but the economy remains the critical issue

Tim Walz has had a meteoric rise to the national political stage, advancing from state governor to Democratic running mate, bolstering Kamala Harris’s presidential chances, invigorating the party’s base, and re-popularizing the term “weird” along the way.

On Tuesday night, the avuncular Minnesota governor will face his next challenge: taking on Ohio senator JD Vance, in a much-anticipated debate in New York. Both men have long sold their experiences of growing up in rural midwest towns as proof that they represent middle America, and both were recruited to augment their parties’ chances in November.