OHIO — The days of choosing a vice presidential running mate based on regional perspective are over.

In this election cycle, experts say it’s all about choosing someone that’s not going to be a liability and who can represent the presidential candidate well.

What You Need To Know

  • Potential succession of VP candidates is top of mind considering the age of both presidential candidates 
  • Making sure the VP candidate serves as a proxy and an extension of the presidential candidate without being the center of attention is crucial
  • VP candidates have the ability to be sharper in their attacks when it comes to the opposition

Tom Sutton, Provost and Political Science Professor at Baldwin Wallace University, said with the candidate pool former president Donald Trump will choose from, those candidates could give Trump the boost he needs in swing states.

“Picking JD Vance as a potential VP contender wouldn't make that much difference in Ohio, but he would be one of the younger of the VP possible candidates and that might draw in some of the younger conservative votes," Sutton said. “He tends to be a bridge. Sometimes he can be pragmatic. He worked with Senator Brown, for instance, dealing with the East Palestine railroad crash issue.”

Sutton said it’s these things that make Vance a strong contender. 

Comparing Vance to Kamala Harris, when it comes to their individual impact on drawing in the support of young voters, Sutton said Gen Z and some millennials would get behind Harris.

“She has a record of being very pro-reproductive rights that attracts a lot of younger voters," Sutton said. "She is younger. She is in her 50s.”

Sutton thinks those are things that would be attractive to younger voters. For JD Vance, Sutton believes the more conservative group of younger voters, who fully support Trump, would be very supportive of Vance as well.

Regardless of who serves as a running mate, Sutton said it all requires a balancing act between representing the campaign, its positions or support for the presidential candidate.