Most Americans have never heard of Tim Walz, Harris' VP pick

Governor who? Senator what's-his-name? 

The leading candidates to be Vice President Harris' running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket are Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. If those names are unfamiliar to you, count yourself among the majority of Americans who don't know or have never heard of the Democrats who could be the next vice president, according to an NPR/PBS News Marist poll. 

The survey found Kelly has the highest favorability of the three candidates for the No. 2 job in the White House, 31% favorable to 18% unfavorable, but 52% of respondents still said they were unsure or have never heard of him. 

Shapiro, who is speculated to be the front-runner in the veepstakes since Harris will make her first appearance with her running mate in Philadelphia, has a 25%-23% favorable to unfavorable rating. Still, 53% of Americans are unsure. 

 

As for Walz, the progressive favorite is by far the most unknown of the three, with 71% of survey respondents saying they were unsure or had never heard of him. 

Meanwhile, Harris has improved her favorability numbers, which are now 46-48% favorable-unfavorable compared to 40-44% in the previous Marist survey. 

The Republican nominee, former President Trump, is viewed mostly unfavorable, 53%, in contrast to 44% of respondents who have a positive view of the GOP candidate. Trump's unfavorable score increased four points since the last Marist poll, which was taken right after the Republican National Convention and the assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

The survey of 1,613 adults was conducted between Thursday and Sunday and has a +/- 3.3 percentage point margin of error. Respondents were contacted via cellphone, landline or online research panels in both English and Spanish. 

 

Harris is scheduled to announce her selection at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening. 

This will be Harris' first visit to Pennsylvania as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, after formerly securing the nomination on Monday. The trip also marks her seventh visit to the commonwealth this year and the 17th since she was sworn in as vice president in 2021.

Kelly, Shapiro and Walz are the finalists for the VP job in a truncated vetting process after President Biden shocked the nation by dropping out of the 2024 race and endorsed Harris to succeed him. 

Harris was in Washington, D.C., over the weekend conducting in-person interviews with her potential running mates, Democratic sources confirmed to Fox News. Others under consideration include Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

 

 

Ahead of her meetings with the contenders, Harris was briefed by a vetting team led by former Attorney General Eric Holder.

The rollout of the announcement is not known, but it's likely it could come through a video introduction, similar to how Biden announced Harris as his running mate four years ago. But the Harris campaign's plans could be upended on Monday or Tuesday by a media leak of the announcement.

After the rally in Philadelphia, Harris and her to-be-named running mate will team for an ambitious and jam-packed swing state tour through Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, the seven battlegrounds that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential election.

The vice president drew over 10,000 at her first major rally since taking over for Biden at the top of the Democrats' ticket, last week at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta.

Harris will be shadowed on her tour by Republican candidate for vice president JD Vance, forces confirmed to Fox News. The Ohio senator will act as the Trump campaign's attack dog, attempting to persuade voters against Harris in key swing states. 

Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser and Landon Mion contributed to this report.