Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) is trying to keep the heat on his Democratic counterpart, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), by claiming he chose to run for Congress rather than go to war.

Walz has faced accusations of abandoning his National Guard unit since being named the Democratic vice presidential candidate on Aug. 6. If the Trump-Vance campaign has its way, that story will stay in the headlines a while longer.

“Tim Walz said that he carried a weapon in war. He never went to war,” Vance said at a Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. post in western Pennsylvania. “Tim Walz said that he didn’t know his united was about to deploy to Iraq when even his own press release at the time said that he knew exactly that. Tim Walz claimed to be a command sergeant major, even had it printed on his challenge coins, and he knew he never achieved that rank.”

During earlier runs for office, Walz was met with similar criticisms, but he has defended his record by saying, “You should never denigrate another person’s service record.”

He has characterized the claims as attacks on his service record.

Vance’s Thursday morning event was heavy on military themes, with flags representing the various service branches present behind the speakers and several fellow veterans before him. Pat Harrigan, who is running for Congress in North Carolina, had perhaps the sharpest words for Walz.

“Tim Walz is a coward who betrayed his men at their greatest time of need,” Harrigan said. “He is not fit to serve as our vice president.”

Harrigan and Vance both brought up Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris’s refusal to speak to the press in unscripted settings, and Vance made a point of taking questions from the media when formal remarks ended.

The Harris campaign is taking a different tack on Vance, charging that he is “weird” and unearthing a host of past comments he made decrying “childless cat ladies” and childless leaders of the Democratic Party.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Harris-Walz campaign organized a counter-programming event in Pittsburgh that took place after Vance’s and featured former Democratic Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb and Will Attig, Union Veterans Council executive director.

The Trump-Vance campaign is hoping to win veterans back by highlighting Vance’s Marine Corps background while raising questions about Walz’s service.