Hillbilly energy against 'Minnesota nice' in US V-P debate

Republican J.D. Vance, Democrat Tim Walz face off to woo Middle America voters

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US vice-presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz will face off on Oct 1 in a debate that promises to be a feisty battle to win over voters in Middle America, who could decide the cliffhanger 2024 election.

The Republican Ohio Senator and the Democratic Minnesota Governor respectively make for a study in contrasts and have already traded a series of bad-tempered insults in the bitter race for the White House.

The combative Mr Vance, 40, shares former president Donald Trump's gift for courting controversy, whether by smearing Democrats as "childless cat ladies", spreading bogus stories about pet-eating migrants or questioning his rival's military record.

Mr Walz, 60, is a folksy Midwestern former teacher and high school football coach who was chosen at lightning speed by Vice-President Kamala Harris after his attacks on Mr Vance and Trump as "weird" went viral.

But what the pair have in common is that their bosses are counting on them to reach out to voters in the blue-collar US heartland and help propel them to the Oval Office.