The absolute outpouring after Walz called Vance's position weird and that it stuck, in my mind, is a big reason why he got picked. Not the only reason, but I am secretly convinced it's a big one.

He said what a lot of people were thinking.

I think the was the opposite. The Harris campaign used him as a surrogate to test out the "weird" message, and then when it worked, it solidified him as the choice.