Sen. J.D. Vance, the junior senator from Ohio, has come a long way in a short amount of time since he published his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” months before Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016.
On Monday, Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Vance is his vice presidential running mate.
Vance, 39, joined the U.S. Senate only last year. Here’s what to know about him.
Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” became immensely popular in 2016, telling Vance’s personal story against the backdrop of the struggles of Appalachia and Rust Belt America. A key message in Vance’s book was that only by their own willpower can Americans in economically and socially struggling regions improve their own lives. But the book also gave Americans in coastal and more affluent areas a window into the lives of the people who made up the backbone of Trump’s support in 2016. When Trump won, Vance’s book became a bible of sorts for leaders and the media to better understand people who voted for Trump, and how a real estate mogul from New York could appeal to struggling Rust Belt Americans.
“J.D.’s book, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social as he announced Vance as his running mate. “J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.”
Born James Donald Bowman in August 1984 in Middletown, Ohio, Vance was 6 years old when his biological father gave him up for adoption to his stepfather. His name changed from James Donald Bowman to James David Vance.
Vance’s childhood was tumultuous. Not only did his father leave the family, but his mother struggled with an addiction to drugs and alcohol, which Vance documented in his book. Vance spent much of his time growing up with his grandparents in Kentucky. His grandmother, a “blue dog” Democrat who owned 19 handguns, according to Vance’s Senate biography, was a big influence on his life.
After graduating from high school, Vance enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
As Vance discussed at length in his book, adapting to the social expectations and nuances of the elite culture at Yale University was initially a challenge for him. Vance graduated with a law degree from Yale in 2013.
Vance met his Indian-American wife, Usha Chilukuri, at Yale. They married in 2014. She is a litigator and clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when Kavanaugh was a federal judge. Vance and Chilukuri have three young children.
