Republican insiders say the party is celebrating the news that Vice-President Kamala Harris selected Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 US election.
And in the hours since the little known Minnesota governor was pitted as the Democratic VP pick,they have been trying out attack lines.
They have slammed Mr Walz's military record and called him a "radical left", in an attempt to shape his identity and see which message sticks.
Mr Walz recently gained national attention for his description of the Republican opposition as "weird", which has since become a favoured taunt of Democrats.
Now the Trump campaign and its right-wing allies have come out swinging.
Trump brands Walz 'dangerously liberal'
Former president Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, welcomed Ms Harris's choice.
"He's a very liberal man, and he's a shocking pick," Mr Trump told Fox News.
"I could not be more thrilled."
Mr Trump has been aiming to gain attack traction by painting the Democratic pair as the most "radical left" ticket in history.
He labelled Mr Walz as "far left" and "dangerously liberal".
"This is a ticket that would want this country to go communist immediately, if not sooner. We want no security. We want no anything," Mr Trump said.
"He's very heavy into transgender. Anything transgender he thinks is great, and he's not where the country is on anything."
Mr Walz is seen as a plain-talking Midwesterner who can appeal to rural voters.
But he also emerged as a prominent champion for transgender rights and gender-affirming care.
Last year, he signed an executive order protecting trans patients' ability to receive medical care that helps them live according to their gender identity.
The order also protects patients and health providers from punishment by other states for delivering such care.
These types of measures have led to Minnesota being known as a "trans refuge".
Mr Trump also attacked Mr Walz as weak on immigration.
He wrote on social media that Mr Walz would "unleash HELL ON EARTH and open our borders to the worst criminals".
Mr Walz served in the Army National Guard, was once a school teacher, and served 12 years in Congress before being elected governor in 2018.
In his interview on Fox News, Mr Trump raised Mr Walz's handling of the riots in Minnesota in 2020, which were sparked by the murder of George Floyd by police in the state.
Mr Walz has faced criticism by some Republicans for being slow to activate the National Guard to quell the protests.
Vance attacks military record
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JD Vance, Mr Trump's choice for vice-president, has also been repeating "far left" rhetoric.
Speaking at a rally in Michigan, he said Mr Walz was chosen because Ms Harris was a "radical herself".
Mr Vance, who served in the Marine Corps and was a public affairs officer during a six-month stint in Iraq, also slammed Mr Walz's military record.
Mr Walz, who served in the Guard for 24 years, retired to run for Congress.
The GOP VP candidate said he abandoned his National Guard battalion right before its deployment to Iraq in 2005.
"When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him — a fact that he's been criticised for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with. I think it's shameful," Mr Vance said.
Mr Trump also posted about the "abandonment" on social media, calling Mr Walz a "disgrace".
When Ms Harris announced Mr Walz as her VP pick, she emphasised his military record.
Her campaign has framed his decision to leave the National Guard and pursue a career in politics as a new pathway to help service members and veterans.
"After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform," Ms Harris' campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement.
"And as vice-president he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families."
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Matt Klink, a political consultant and strategist, said it was the role of vice-presidential candidates to act as the "attack dogs".
So far, Mr Walz has tried to position Mr Vance as an elitist because he went to Harvard Law School and worked for venture capitals firm.
"What the campaigns are doing right now is they're probing for messages that work against the other candidates," Mr Klink told ABC RN Breakfast.
"Both vice-presidential candidates are going to be attack dogs so the presidential nominees can come out and talk about their visions."
GOP allies call out 'extremist' policies
Ms Harris said she chose the 60-year-old governor as her running-mate for "his convictions on fighting for middle class families".
And noted he signed legislation intended to protect abortion access, curb gun violence and enshrine voting rights.
Republican senators and right-wing media have been jumping on these "liberal policies" to further push the narrative about his "extremist" agenda.
"If you had any doubt that Kamala Harris is deeply liberal, look no further than the fact that her VP pick was endorsed by Bernie Sanders," Republican senator Lindsay Graham said.
"Great day for the left, bad day for middle America."
Trump's campaign secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said: "Just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist".
Several Fox News commentators also repeated similar lines.
Sean Hannity called Mr Walz the "most far-left governor in the United States".
Political consultant Mr Klink said the Republicans would continue to pick apart the Harris-Walz ticket by saying they are too progressive.
"Collectively, their record is is decidedly left of centre in an America that's right of centre," he said.
"But the caveat is, this election focuses on one person, and either you love Donald Trump or you hate Donald Trump."
Polls show Ms Harris has erased the lead Mr Trump had built during the final faltering weeks of President Joe Biden's campaign.
And a re-energised Democratic Party has flooded her campaign with donations since she rose to the top of the ticket two weeks ago.
The Harris campaign said it raised $US36 million ($53 million) in the 24 hours after announcing Mr Walz as the vice-presidential pick on Tuesday.
A former congressman, Mr Walz has won elections in a Republican-leaning district before becoming governor.
Mr Klink said the governor's Midwest personality was part of his appeal.
"We have a saying in the US — they call it 'Midwest nice'," he said.
"It's really hard to not like governor Waltz. He's kind of folksy, he smiles a lot, he was a former American football coach.
"He has that 'go team' attitude that it is very appealing to a lot of people."
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