Ever since the announcement of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the vice presidential pick of Kamala Harris, both sides of the political spectrum have rushed to control the messaging over what Walz’s selection means for voters.

Democrats have sought to highlight Walz’s potential appeal to Rust Belt voters given his role as a Midwestern governor, his military service and his career as a high school teacher. Walz’s progressive bonafides — his support for abortion rights, marijuana legalization and gun control among them — have also been touted as a means of encouraging younger and more progressive voters to come out to vote in November.

“Donald Trump and JD Vance are selling a twisted version of freedom where far-right extremists can invade your doctor’s office,” said Walz in a fundraising appeal. “Take it from a small-town guy: they know nothing about what working families need.”

In contrast, Republicans have sought to paint Walz as a “far-left lunatic,” as one bit of messaging from the Trump campaign put it. Among the parts of Walz’s record being highlighted are his support for sanctuary state policies, opposition to voter ID laws and his recent remark that “one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.” That the progressive “Squad” of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar have backed him has also been used to underscore a portrait of Walz as out of step with the typical voter.

“Harris-Walz will put illegal aliens, violent criminals, and the Radical Left first,” declared a Trump campaign email. “President Donald J. Trump will put America First.”

Needless to say, all of the national discourse about the need for America to tone it down after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump is long gone.

It’s unclear so far how much of a boost that Walz will give Harris. But so far the addition of Ohio’s JD Vance to the ticket of Donald Trump hasn’t done much to fend off the ongoing surge in support for the Democratic ticket.

As of this writing, RealClearPolitics’ average of national polls taken from July 22 to Aug. 4 indicates that Harris has erased Trump’s advantage. Harris is currently leading Trump with 47.4% indicating support for Harris versus 46.9% for Trump. At the time Biden announced he would not seek a second term, Trump had a three-point lead over Biden with 47.9% of voters backing Trump.

Of course, polls are polls and political dynamics can shift quickly in the face of ongoing events and in light of new information.

Some voters may find it peculiar that Walz was selected, for example, over the more moderate governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. There’s room for suspicion that Harris didn’t want to alienate progressive voters by choosing a Jewish vice president at a time when Democrats are divided over the war in Gaza.

But it also appears to be the case that JD Vance’s literary skills haven’t translated to much political success, with polls indicating low favorability for Vance.

Taken together, everything points to an intensely fought political campaign in the coming months.