Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate, traveled to Arizona and Nevada last week in an effort to introduce himself to voters.
In Nevada, Vance attacked Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, as “dangerously liberal” and Trump’s pledge to launch mass deportation operations in his second term.
“Kamala Harris was the most liberal member of the United States Senate. She is a San Francisco liberal. She is dangerously liberal, and thanks to the people in this room, she is never going to be the president of the United States,” Vance told supporters in a high school gym in Henderson, Nevada, a city just southeast of Las Vegas.
Many rallygoers who spoke to Spectrum News praised Vance's rags to riches story -- growing up in poverty in Ohio, raised primarily by his grandparents, before enlisting in the Marines, graduating from Ohio State and Yale Law School before publishing a bestelling book, "Hillbilly Elegy," before turning to politics.
"He picked himself up and put himself where he is now, and he did it all on his own," said Arizona resident Teresa Hinojosa. "And he’s a good guy."
But others were concerned about Vance's previous comments about women and families without children that Democrats have hammered him on since he joined the Republican ticket. Vance has been dogged by his comments deriding "childless cat ladies" he made in 2021, singling out Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as having no direct stake in the country’s future because they do not have progeny. (Harris has two stepchildren with husband Doug Emhoff, while Buttigieg has since become a parent to twins.)
Vance has since taken to calling his comments sarcastic, while his wife, Usha Vance, defended his rhetoric as a "quip" in a recent interview.
That explanation might not resonate with some voters.
"Whatever he says, he can’t white wash it," said Gina Gentile, a Nevada voter. "He said it, he meant it. You know, he’s a terrible man."
At an event in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Vance sought to make the case that it's a fabricated controversy: "What I said is very simple. I think American families are good and government policy should be more pro-family. Now if the media wants to get offended about a sarcastic remark I made before I even ran for the United States Senate, then the media is entitled to get offended."
Voters that spoke to Spectrum News were excited about Harris replacing President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket.
"I am so gung ho for Kamala Harris," said Nevada resident Joan Peck. "It’s time for the feminine energy! We need that."
"Now that Kamala’s in, I’m excited," offered Arizona's Sandy Steffens.
"I think by [Biden] stepping out, we will begin to see how bright she is," said Nevada's Peck. "I think she’s tough when she has to be."
Republican voters acknowledged that the new candidate alters the race against Trump. One Arizona resident told Spectrum News that he would prefer Trump focus on Harris' record as vice president and a member of the Biden administration rather than continue to attack her over race, as he did last week at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago.
"I guess I’m a little more scared about Kamala because she’s going to get the women vote and the Black vote," said Nevada's Jim Van Loo. "I wish he wouldn’t go after her, and go onto his policies and what he did to make the country better."
"You can run a campaign and still be civil and run on your results," Van Loo added of Trump. "Run on what the prices of gas was, run on what the price of food was."
“I definitely think it makes it a tiny bit harder for Republicans to win," said fellow Nevadan Chris Hill.
Some undecided voters are uncertain about Harris' chances.
"I don’t know if the country is ready for a woman, a Black woman. I think they're going to hold that against her, even though they shouldn’t," said Nevada's Karl Lyons.
Voters who spoke to Spectrum News in Arizona and Nevada, two states Biden narrowly won over Trump in 2020, said immigration and inflation are their top issues.
Gentile, a Nevada voter who supports Harris, wants her to address issues at the U.S.-Mexico border more directly: "They’re going to have to turn around and discuss the border down there and take care of that issue because we do have too many people coming across."
Nevada's Claire Stewart, on the other hand, considers Trump the only option: "We need a businessman to get us out of the problems we are in."
Spectrum News' David Mendez and Justin Tasolides contributed to this report.