Recently, coverage of the 2016 presidential election has been dominated by scandals, but the vice presidential candidates have gone mostly unscathed.
Republican nominee Donald Trump is facing sexual assault allegations from over a dozen women. WikiLeaks has published thousands of hacked emails from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign team, the contents of which Trump has used to continue to accuse Clinton of being "crooked."
Despite the mudslinging, the vice presidential candidates have remained relatively unscathed. According to RealClearPolitics, Republican running mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's unfavorable numbers sit at 28.5 percent, compared to Trump's 59 percent, and Democratic running mate U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine's are at 26.8 percent, to Clinton's 52.3 percent.
But not everyone is a fan.
On Kaine's performance in the Oct. 4 vice presidential debate, Lee County Republican Federation Chairman Randy Price said Kaine seemed "about as rude as he could be."
"All he wanted to do was continuously interrupt [Pence]," he said. "He's trying to be critical of Mr. Trump, instead of saying what he is going to do to help the people of our country."
Price admitted he does not know much about Kaine's career but said "if he believes in Hillary Clinton enough that he signed up to be her vice president, then he and I don't see eye-to-eye on where this country needs to be going."
Nancy Worley, the Alabama Democratic Party chairwoman, has a different point of view.
Worley met Kaine while they were both serving on the Democratic National Committee and said she's "always been exceedingly impressed by Tim Kaine." Worley cited Kaine's mission work and career in public office as examples of his dedication to service.
"He is somebody who lives his talk," she said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the self-professed "Democratic Socialist" out of Vermont, was able to gather over 40 percent of the popular vote during the Democratic primaries.
Some speculated Clinton would choose a running mate from the progressive wing of the Democratic party to appeal to supporters of Sanders. Instead, Clinton went with a more moderate running mate in Kaine, who in the past has voiced opposition to abortion and "strong support for the Second Amendment."
Worley, however, said the choice makes sense.
"The vice president has to be your No. 1 cheerleader and supporter," she said. "You look for somebody, first of all, who has the same philosophy you do."
She thinks Kaine and Clinton's similar style of campaigning, as well as Kaine's popularity in Virginia, a state Republicans won just three elections ago, were also factors in Clinton's decision.
Trump and Pence's backgrounds, however, are anything but similar. Trump has never held political office. Pence served as a congressman for 12 years before taking office as governor of Indiana in 2013. Price believes even though their experience and approaches may differ, the candidates' views are reconcilable.
"You're going to see in any type of political arena that some people are more conservative or may be more liberal than others," Price said. "But I think when it gets down to the bottom line, both [Trump and Pence] believe that we've got to do some things to change America and the direction it's going in."
In the end, Price thinks Pence's experience in Congress and politics may have actually been what drove Trump to put Pence on the ticket.
"Not only has he represented his constituents well in Washington, he's done an excellent job as governor," Price said.
Worley disagreed.
She believes that despite the Republican campaign's claims, Pence has been detrimental to the citizens of Indiana.
"He has not helped working people in Indiana," Worley said. "He's also been ultraconservative in cutting out funding for Planned Parenthood."
Decreased funding for Planned Parenthood in Indiana under Pence led to the closure of clinics in rural Indiana that provided HIV testing.
"He has not been a good governor for Indiana in terms of economics," she said. "It's almost like Mike Pence says one thing, but does another."
The presidential election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
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