J. D. Vance
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James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman, August 2, 1984) is an American
venture capitalist Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...
, author, and politician who is a
United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
-elect from
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, elected in
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. A member of the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
, he came to prominence with his 2016 memoir, ''
Hillbilly Elegy ''Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis'' is a bestselling 2016 memoir by future Ohio Senator J. D. Vance about the Appalachian values of his Kentucky family and the social and socioeconomic problems of his hometown of Mi ...
''. Born in
Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, about 35 miles (47 km) north of Cincinnati. The population as of the 2020 census was 50,987. It is part of the Cincinnati metropo ...
, Vance studied political science and philosophy at
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
before earning a degree from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
. His memoir, which describes his upbringing in Middletown and his family's Appalachian values, became a ''New York Times'' bestseller and attracted significant press attention during the
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
. Vance launched his first political campaign for Ohio's Senate seat in 2021 and won the Republican nomination. He defeated Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the general election.


Early life and education

James David Vance was born on August 2, 1984, in
Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, about 35 miles (47 km) north of Cincinnati. The population as of the 2020 census was 50,987. It is part of the Cincinnati metropo ...
, between
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and
Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
, as James Donald Bowman, the son of Donald Bowman and Bev Vance. Of Scots-Irish descent, his mother and father divorced when Vance was a toddler. Shortly afterward, he was adopted by his mother's third husband. Vance and his sister were raised primarily by his grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, whom they called "Mamaw and Papaw." J. D. later went by the name ''James Hamel,'' his stepfather's surname, until adopting the surname Vance in honor of his grandparents. Vance was educated at Middletown High School, a public high school in his hometown. After graduating, he enlisted in the
U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...
and served in the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
as a combat correspondent with the
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the aviation combat element for the ...
. Vance later graduated ''
summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' from
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and philosophy. While at Ohio State, he worked for Republican Ohio State Senator
Bob Schuler Robert Schuler (June 15, 1943 – June 19, 2009) was a Republican politician who formerly served in the Ohio General Assembly. Schuler first entered politics in the late 1970s as a member of the Deer Park City Council and also spent four years ...
. After graduating from Ohio State, Vance earned a
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
. During his first year, his professor
Amy Chua Amy Lynn Chua (born October 26, 1962), also known as "the Tiger Mom", is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and writer. She is the John M. Duff Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School with an expertise in international business transactions, law ...
, author of ''
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother ''Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother'' is a book by American author and law professor Amy Chua that was published in 2011. It quickly popularized the concept and term "tiger mother". Summary The complete blurb of the book reads: "This is a story ...
,'' persuaded him to write his memoir.


Career

After working at a corporate law firm, Vance moved to San Francisco to work in the tech industry. He served as a principal at
Peter Thiel Peter Andreas Thiel (; born 11 October 1967) is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Fac ...
's
venture capital firm Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...
, Mithril Capital. In 2016,
Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...
published Vance's book, '' Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis''. It was on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
and
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
. It was a finalist for the 2017
Dayton Literary Peace Prize The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is an annual United States literary award "recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace" that was first awarded in 2006. Awards are given for adult fiction and non-fiction books published at some point ...
and winner of the 2017
Audie Award for Nonfiction The Audie Award for Nonfiction is one of the Audie Awards presented annually by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). It awards excellence in narration, production, and content for a nonfiction audiobook released in a given year. Before 2008 the a ...
. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called it "one of the six best books to help understand Trump's win". ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' called him the "voice of the
Rust Belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions and ...
", while ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'' criticized him as "liberal media's favorite
white trash White trash is a derogatory racial and class-related slur used in American English to refer to poor white people, especially in the rural southern United States. The label signifies a social class inside the white population and especially a ...
–splainer" and the "false prophet of blue America." Economist
William Easterly William Russell Easterly (born September 7, 1957) is an American economist, specializing in economic development. He is a professor of economics at New York University, joint with Africa House, and co-director of NYU’s Development Research Insti ...
, a
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
native, criticized the book, writing, "Sloppy analysis of collections of people—coastal elites, flyover America, Muslims, immigrants, people without college degrees, you name it—has become routine. And it's killing our politics." In December 2016, Vance indicated that he planned to move to Ohio to start a nonprofit, potentially run for office, and work on combating drug addiction in the
Rust Belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions and ...
. In 2017, Vance joined
Revolution LLC Revolution LLC is an American investment firm based in Washington, D.C., founded in 2005 by AOL co-founder Steve Case, after leaving the AOL Time Warner board. The firm seeks to fund entrepreneurs who are transforming legacy industries with innov ...
, an investment firm founded by
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017â ...
cofounder
Steve Case Stephen McConnell Case (born August 21, 1958) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist best known as the former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online (AOL). Case joined AOL's predecessor company, Quantum Computer ...
, as an investment partner, where he was tasked with expanding the "Rise of the Rest" initiative, which focuses on growing investments in under-served regions outside the Silicon Valley and New York City tech bubbles. In January 2017, Vance became a
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
contributor. In April 2017,
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
signed on to direct a film version of ''
Hillbilly Elegy ''Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis'' is a bestselling 2016 memoir by future Ohio Senator J. D. Vance about the Appalachian values of his Kentucky family and the social and socioeconomic problems of his hometown of Mi ...
'', which
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
released in 2020, and which starred Owen Asztalos and
Gabriel Basso Louis Gabriel Basso III (born December 11, 1994) is an American actor, known for his roles in the Showtime (TV network), Showtime series ''The Big C (TV series), The Big C'', the 2011 science fiction film ''Super 8 (2011 film), Super 8'', and th ...
as Vance. In 2019, Vance co-founded Narya Capital in Cincinnati, with financial backing from Thiel,
Eric Schmidt Eric Emerson Schmidt (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and software engineer known for being the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, executive chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 20 ...
, and
Marc Andreessen Marc Lowell Andreessen ( ; born July 9, 1971) is an American entrepreneur, investor, and software engineer. He is the co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser; co-founder of Netscape; and co-founder and general partner of Silicon ...
. In 2020, he raised $93 million for the firm. With Thiel and former Trump adviser Darren Blanton, Vance has invested in the Canadian
online video platform An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...
Rumble Rumble or Rumbling may refer to: Sounds and vibrations * Rumble (noise), a form of low frequency noise * Rumble, a haptic feedback vibration feature in video game controllers * Rumbling, a quality of a heart murmur * Stomach rumble, or borbory ...
, a right-wing alternative to YouTube.


2022 Ohio U.S. Senate campaign

In early 2018, Vance reportedly considered a bid for
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
as a Republican running against Democrat
Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell Brown (; born November 9, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Ohio, a seat which he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Ohio's ...
, but declined to run. In April 2021, he expressed interest in running for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican
Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Ohio since 2011. A member of the Republican Party ...
.
Peter Thiel Peter Andreas Thiel (; born 11 October 1967) is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Fac ...
gave $10 million to Protect Ohio Values, a super PAC, created in February 2021 to support Vance in running for the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Ohio.
Robert Mercer Robert Leroy Mercer (born July 11, 1946) is an American hedge fund manager, computer scientist, and political donor. Mercer was an early artificial intelligence researcher and developer and is the former co-CEO of the hedge fund company Renaissan ...
also gave an undisclosed amount. In May 2021, Vance launched an exploratory committee. In July 2021, he officially entered the race; it was his first campaign for public office. On May 3, 2022, Vance won the Republican primary with 32% of the vote, defeating multiple candidates, including
Josh Mandel Joshua Aaron Mandel (born September 27, 1977) is an American far-right politician who served as the 48th treasurer of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the Ohio State Representative for the 17th distr ...
and
Matt Dolan Matthew John Dolan (born January 12, 1965) is an American attorney and politician who has served as a member of the Ohio Senate from the 24th district since 2017. He previously served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2005 to ...
. In November he defeated Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the general election.


Political positions

Vance has been called a populist conservative, backed by venture capitalist
Peter Thiel Peter Andreas Thiel (; born 11 October 1967) is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Fac ...
. In July 2021, he said that the culture war is a
class war Class War is an anarchist group and newspaper established by Ian Bone and others in 1983 in the United Kingdom. An incarnation of Class War was briefly registered as a political party for the purposes of fighting the 2015 United Kingdom general ...
against middle-class and working-class Americans, and an
economic war The Anglo-Irish Trade War (also called the Economic War) was a retaliatory trade war between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom from 1932 to 1938. The Irish government refused to continue reimbursing Britain with land annuities from fi ...
against conservatives.


Social issues

Vance opposes
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
after 15 weeks and said abortion laws should be set by states. When asked whether abortion laws should include exceptions for rape and incest, he said, "two wrong don't make a right." Ohio's largest
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
group, Ohio Right to Life, endorsed Vance's campaign. Vance opposes the
Respect for Marriage Act The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA; ) is a landmark United States federal law passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), requires the U.S. federal governm ...
. In 2022, he said, "I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, but I don't think the gay marriage issue is alive right now. I'm not one of these guys who's looking to try to take people's families and rip them apart."


Immigration

Vance once admonished Trump for demonizing immigrants, but has repeatedly called illegal immigration "dirty". In 2022, he told
Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016. Carlson began h ...
that Democrats "have decided that they can't win reelection in 2022 unless they bring a large number of new voters to replace the voters that are already here." This led to allegations that Vance was endorsing the
Great Replacement conspiracy theory in the United States In the United States, the far-right Great Replacement conspiracy theory holds that political elites are purposefully seeking to increase the number of racial minorities to displace the white American population. Supporters have used the conspiracy t ...
, according to which there is an effort to replace white Americans with immigrants. He has supported Trump's proposal for a wall along the southern border and rejected the idea that advocates for the border wall are racist. He has also proposed spending $3 billion to finish Trump's wall.


Views on childlessness, divorce, and domestic abuse

In a 2021 speech to the
Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsors ...
, Vance blamed "the childless left" for America's woes. He praised far-right Hungarian prime minister
Viktor Orban The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
for encouraging married couples to have children, and that parents should "have a bigger say in how democracy functions" than non-parents. In September 2021, while speaking at Pacifica Christian High School in California, Vance said, "This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that, like, 'well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that's going to make people happier in the long term.'" ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
'' wrote that Vance "seemed to suggest that in some cases, 'even violent' marriages should continue." In response to ''Vice'', Vance claimed that rates of
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
had "skyrocketed" in recent years due to what he called "modern society's war on families". In recent decades, rates of domestic violence have decreased. A strategist for Vance called ''Vice''s characterization misleading and said Vance does not support people staying in abusive relationships.


Drug smuggling

During his 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, Vance said that President Joe Biden was flooding Ohio with illegal drugs by not enforcing security at the southern border, a claim ''The New York Times'' called "blatantly false".


Relationship with Donald Trump

During the
2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald ...
, Vance was an outspoken critic of
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nominee
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. In a February 2016 ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' column, he wrote that "Trump's actual policy proposals, such as they are, range from immoral to absurd." In October 2016, he called Trump "reprehensible" in a post on Twitter, and described himself as a " never-Trump guy." Vance's law school roommate, Josh McLaurin, shared messages Vance had sent him during the 2016 presidential campaign saying that Trump could possibly become either another "cynical asshole" like
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
or "America's
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
". Vance also stated his intention to vote for independent presidential candidate
Evan McMullin David Evan McMullin (born April 2, 1976) is an American politician and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. McMullin ran as an independent in the 2016 United States presidential election and in the 2022 United States Senate electi ...
in the 2016 presidential election. By February 2018, Vance began changing his opinion, saying Trump "is one of the few political leaders in America that recognizes the frustration that exists in large parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky and so forth". Vance supported Trump in 2020. In July 2021, he apologized for calling Trump "reprehensible" and deleted posts from 2016 from his Twitter account that were critical of Trump. Vance said that he now thought Trump was a good president and expressed regret about his criticism during the 2016 election. Vance visited
Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( from the Spanish for ''sea to lake'') is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and referred to it as his "Winter White House" ...
to meet with Trump and
Peter Thiel Peter Andreas Thiel (; born 11 October 1967) is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Fac ...
ahead of an official announcement regarding his U.S. Senate campaign. In October 2021, Vance reiterated Trump's claims of election fraud, saying that Trump lost the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...
because of widespread voter fraud. In April 2022, Trump endorsed Vance for U.S. Senate.


Personal life

Vance has been married to a former law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri Vance, since 2014. They have three children. For much of his professional career, Vance and his family have lived in San Francisco, where they were active in
community gardening A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plo ...
. Vance was raised in a "conservative,
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
" branch of
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, but by September 2016, he was "thinking very seriously about converting to
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
" but was "not an active participant" in any particular religious denomination. In August 2019, Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church in a ceremony at St. Gertrude Priory in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio. He chose
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
for his
confirmation name In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
. Vance said he converted because he "became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true", and described Roman Catholic theology's influence on his political views. Also in 2019, the first issue of '' The Lamp'', which has since been called "a Catholic version of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''", included an essay by Vance describing the reasons for his conversion to Roman Catholicism.


Works

*


References


External links


Campaign websiteNarya V.C. Home Page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, J. D. 1984 births Living people 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American memoirists 21st-century American politicians American nationalists American people of Scotch-Irish descent American venture capitalists Businesspeople from Ohio Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Catholics from Ohio Converts to Roman Catholicism from Evangelicalism Criticism of Donald Trump Great Replacement conspiracy theorists Ohio Republicans Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Middletown, Ohio Republican Party (United States) politicians Right-wing populism in the United States United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War United States Marines Yale Law School alumni