Former President Donald Trump has announced JD Vance, the senator from Ohio, as his vice-presidential running mate for the upcoming presidential election.
Born James David Bowman in 1984 in Middletown, Ohio, Vance hails from a white, working-class family of predominantly Scottish-Irish descent. Raised by his maternal grandparents in the Appalachian coal region, one of the nation’s poorest areas, Vance’s early life experiences have heavily influenced his political views.
After serving four years in the Marines, including a tour in Iraq, Vance pursued higher education at Ohio State University, earning degrees in political science and philosophy. He then attended Yale Law School, after which he penned the best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which offered a poignant look into the lives of conservative white working-class Americans.
In 2017, Vance returned to Ohio from California, where he had been involved in the biotech industry. He established a venture capital firm with support from Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder and prominent Republican in Silicon Valley. Thiel later contributed $10 million to a committee promoting Vance’s Senate candidacy in 2021.
During his Senate campaign, Vance shifted his stance on Trump, apologizing for past criticisms and endorsing the former president’s unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. Trump’s endorsement played a pivotal role in Vance securing his Senate seat, and he has since become a notable figure in Washington politics.
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