JD Vance

JD Vance, 40, is a freshman U.S. Senator from Ohio who first rose to national prominence as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a memoir about his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, and his family’s roots in rural Kentucky.

In July, Vance was tapped by former Republican President Donald Trump in July to be his running mate. Vance won Trump’s endorsement in 2022 during his the senator’s first run for political office. Before winning an open Senate seat, Vance was a corporate attorney and later a venture capitalist focused on conservative startups.

Vance, a 2013 graduate of Yale Law School, also graduated from The Ohio State University in 2009, where he majored in political science and philosophy. He enlisted in the Marines in 2003, after graduating high school, and spent six months in Iraq, in a non-combat role, assisting the public affairs unit.

As a senator, Vance has shown a conservative streak — expressing support for a federal ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, voting against funding for Ukraine and pressing for a restart to construction on the U.S. southern border wall.