Former President Donald Trump has chosen US Senator JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate as he looks to return to the White House.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Here are some things to know about Vance, a 39-year-old Republican now in his first term in the Senate:
Vance was born and raised in Middletown, Ohio. He joined the Marines and served in Iraq, and later earned degrees from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He also worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
Vance made a name for himself with his memoir, the 2016 bestseller Hillbilly Elegy, which was published as Trump was first running for president.
The book earned Vance a reputation as someone who could help explain the maverick New York businessman's appeal in middle America, especially among the working class, rural white voters who helped Trump win the presidency.
Hillbilly Elegy also introduced Vance to the Trump family, with Donald Trump Jr becoming a friend.
After Donald Trump won the 2016 election, Vance returned to his native Ohio and set up an anti-opioid charity. He also took to the lecture circuit and was a favoured guest at Republican Lincoln Day dinners where his personal story -- including the hardship Vance endured because of his mother's drug addiction -- resonated.
Vance's appearances helped lay the groundwork for entering politics in 2021, when he sought the Senate seat vacated by Republican Rob Portman, who retired.
Trump endorsed Vance and Vance went on to win a crowded Republican primary and the general election.
The two have developed a strong rapport over the years, despite Vance being a 'never Trump' Republican in 2016.
He called Trump 'dangerous' and 'unfit' for office. His wife, lawyer Usha Chilukuri Vance, who is is Indian American and the mother of their three children, also criticised Trump's racist rhetoric, saying he could be America's Hitler.
But by the time Vance met Trump in 2021, he had reversed his opinion, citing Trump's accomplishments as president. Both men have downplayed Vance's past scathing criticism.
Once elected, Vance became a fierce Trump ally on Capitol Hill, unceasingly defending Trump's policies and behaviour.
Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, called Vance a leading voice for the conservative movement, on key issues including a shift away from interventionist foreign policy, free market economics and 'American culture writ large.'
Democrats call him an extremist, citing provocative positions Vance has taken but sometimes later amended. Vance signalled support for a national 15-week abortion ban during his Senate run, for instance, then softened that stance once Ohio voters overwhelmingly backed a 2023 abortion rights amendment.
On the 2020 election, Vance said he wouldn't have certified the results immediately if he had been vice president and said Trump had "a very legitimate grievance." He has put conditions on honouring the results of the 2024 election that echo Trump's.
A litany of government and outside investigations have not found any election fraud that could have swung the outcome of Trump's 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.
In the Senate, Vance sometimes embraces bipartisanship. He and Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown co-sponsored a railway safety bill following a fiery train derailment in the Ohio village of East Palestine. He's sponsored legislation extending and increasing funding for Great Lakes restoration, and supported bipartisan legislation boosting workers and families.
Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative activist group Turning Point USA, said Vance compellingly articulates the America First world view and could help Trump in states he closely lost in 2020, such as Michigan and Wisconsin, that share Ohio's values, demographics and economy.
Australian Associated Press
