Rasmussen Poll: Walz's Military Record Won't Affect Vote

Although more than a majority of Americans said they believe accusations that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz exaggerated his military record is a serious matter, a plurality said it would not have an impact on how they will vote in November, a poll by Rasmussen Reports released Monday showed.

Since becoming Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Walz has been harshly criticized for maintaining he retired as a command sergeant major from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005, even though the National Guard stated he retired as a master sergeant because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.

Videos have also surfaced of Walz stating he served in combat, which he never did. In fact, at the time of his retirement, his unit was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq.

The poll of 1,158 likely voters was conducted Aug. 12-14 and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. It showed 55% said Walz's exaggeration of his military record is very serious or somewhat serious, with 38% saying it is not very serious or not at all serious. And 45% said it would not make much difference in how they would vote, although 34% said it would make them less likely to vote for the Democrat ticket and 16% said they would be more likely to vote for them.

Slightly more men (58%) than women voters (53%) said they believe the accusations that Walz exaggerated his military record are at least somewhat serious. Women voters are more likely than men to say the accusations won't make much difference in how they vote in November.

The poll showed 50% of voters, including 75% of Democrats, said it would be better for Harris to stick with Walz as her running mate and not choose someone else. Just 29%, including 16% of Democrats, said it would be better if Harris chose someone else.

Among voters who said it would be better for Harris to keep Walz as her running mate, only 22% consider the accusations about Walz exaggerating his military record to be very serious. Among those who think Harris should choose someone else, 58% said they believe the accusations are very serious.

President Joe Biden's strongest supporters are least troubled by the accusations. Among voters who strongly approve of Biden's job performance as president, just 25% consider the accusations at least somewhat serious. But among those who strongly disapprove of Biden's performance, 87% said they believe the accusations against Walz are at least somewhat serious.

Rasmussen's daily Presidential Tracking Poll showed Monday that 45% of likely voters approve of Biden's job performance, with 54% disapproving.