If you asked this question mid-way through the year, you'd get a very different answer than if you asked it on New Year's Eve. 2024 was basically a fever dream for American politics. Honestly, it’s one of those "it depends on what month it is" situations.
For the vast majority of the year—from January 1st straight through the final seconds of December 31st—the answer was Kamala Harris. She was the 49th Vice President of the United States, serving alongside President Joe Biden. But that’s only half the story because 2024 was an election year that felt like ten years packed into twelve months. While Harris held the actual power, the "Vice President of 2024" conversation was dominated by the man who eventually took her job: JD Vance.
The incumbent: Kamala Harris and her 2024 marathon
Kamala Harris didn't just sit in the West Wing in 2024. She was everywhere. For the first half of the year, she was the loyal running mate, hitting the trail to defend the Biden-Harris record. Then, July happened. Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and suddenly, Harris wasn't just the Vice President; she was the presumptive nominee for President.
It was a wild pivot. Think about the logistics. One day you’re prepping for a VP debate, and the next, you’re trying to consolidate the entire Democratic Party in about 48 hours. She did it, too. She tapped Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her own running mate in August, creating a secondary "who is the vice president" question for the campaign trail.
But throughout all that campaign noise, her day job stayed the same. She was still breaking ties in the Senate. In fact, she holds the all-time record for tie-breaking votes by a Vice President. By the time 2024 wrapped up, she had cast 33 of them. Most of her year was spent balancing the intense pressure of a 107-day presidential campaign with the actual constitutional duties of the VP office.
The challenger: JD Vance enters the chat
While Harris was the sitting VP, JD Vance became the "Vice President-elect" by the end of the year. It was a meteoric rise. Seriously. The guy had only been in the Senate for about two years.
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Donald Trump announced Vance as his pick on July 15, 2024, during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. At 39 years old, Vance was the first Millennial on a major party ticket. He brought a specific kind of energy—combative, tech-savvy, and deeply connected to the "Hillbilly Elegy" brand that made him famous.
The 2024 campaign turned into a proxy war between two very different versions of the vice presidency:
- The Harris/Walz side: Focused on "joy," institutional experience, and protecting reproductive rights.
- The Trump/Vance side: Focused on "MAGA" continuity, border security, and economic populism.
When the dust settled on the November 5th election, the Trump-Vance ticket won with 312 electoral votes. That victory changed the answer to "who is the vice president 2024" from a simple name to a transition of power.
Wait, so who was actually in the office?
Let’s be super clear because the internet loves to overcomplicate this.
Kamala Harris was the Vice President for the entire calendar year of 2024. The U.S. Constitution is pretty rigid about this. Terms start and end at noon on January 20th. So, even though JD Vance won the election in November 2024, he didn't actually become the Vice President until January 20, 2025.
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During that "lame duck" period between November and December 2024, the U.S. effectively had two people in the VP orbit: Harris, who was finishing her term and overseeing the transition, and Vance, who was building his staff and preparing to move into Number One Observatory Circle.
Quick facts about the 2024 VP situation:
- Incumbent: Kamala Harris (Democrat).
- Running Mates in the race: Tim Walz (D) and JD Vance (R).
- Third-Party options: People often forget Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had Nicole Shanahan on his ticket for a good chunk of 2024 before he dropped out.
- The Result: JD Vance became the Vice President-elect after the November 5 vote.
Why the 2024 vice presidency felt different
Usually, the VP is a bit of a background character. Not in 2024. This year, the vice presidency was the main stage.
First, you had the unprecedented swap-out of the top of the ticket. When Biden stepped aside, Harris became the first sitting VP since Hubert Humphrey in 1968 to lead a major ticket without going through a traditional primary season. That put her vice presidency under a microscope. Every policy she’d touched—from border issues to voting rights—became a campaign flashpoint.
Then you have the JD Vance factor. His selection was a signal that Trump was looking for an heir to the MAGA movement, not just a balanced ticket. Vance’s past criticisms of Trump (calling him "America’s Hitler" in private texts years ago) were dragged up constantly. It made for a very "popcorn-worthy" news cycle.
The VP debate on October 1, 2024, between Vance and Walz was actually surprisingly civil compared to the presidential debates. They spent more time talking about policy than personal insults, which was a weirdly refreshing break for voters. It was probably the one time in 2024 where the "who is the vice president" question felt like it was about governing rather than just winning.
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What happened next?
By December 2024, the transition was in full swing. Harris was preparing to certify the election results—a duty that must have been incredibly awkward given she was certifying her own loss and her successor's win.
JD Vance was already making waves as the incoming 50th Vice President. By early 2026, where we are now, Vance has become arguably the most influential VP in modern history, often described as more powerful than Dick Cheney was in his prime. He’s been the point man for everything from U.S. policy in Ukraine to major domestic manufacturing initiatives.
Moving forward with this info
If you're trying to keep the facts straight for a project or just a bar trivia night, remember the "Noon Rule." Power doesn't shift the night of the election.
To stay informed on how the current administration is functioning compared to the 2024 landscape, you should:
- Track the current Senate tie-breaking votes, as they reveal where the VP’s true legislative influence lies.
- Monitor official White House briefings for "Presidential Actions" where the VP is the lead envoy, especially in foreign policy.
- Distinguish between the "Vice President" (the office holder) and the "Vice President-elect" (the winner before inauguration) when reading historical news archives from late 2024.
Understanding the 2024 vice presidency isn't just about a name; it's about a massive shift in American political strategy that we’re still feeling the effects of today in 2026.