From what I’ve seen of Vance on C-SPAN, he’s doing a fine job of branding Kamala Harris and Tim Walz what they are — far-left radicals. Vance has been especially merciless when it comes to Walz. He’s hammering the Minnesotan for the policies he inflicted on his state, some of his far-left positions, and his misleading statements about his military service.

At his rallies, Vance also solicits questions from the media, while pointedly noting Harris’ unwillingness to meet the press. From what I’ve seen, Vance answers questions adroitly, though it will only take one major slip up for this strategy to backfire.

The problem for the Republican ticket is that Vance is only second fiddle. As much as presidential nominees agonize and calculate before they select a running mate, the vice presidential nominee almost never plays a big part in determining the outcome of an election.