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JD Vance

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J. D. Vance
Vance in 2021
Born
James Donald Bowman

(1984-08-02) August 2, 1984 (age 40)
Middletown, Ohio, U.S.
EducationOhio State University (BA)
Yale University (JD)
Occupation(s)Author, commentator, venture capitalist
Known forCommentary on rural sociology, poverty, Hillbilly culture
Notable workHillbilly Elegy
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Usha Chilukuri
​
(m. 2014)​
Children3
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service / branch United States Marine Corps
Years of service2003–2007
RankCorporal
Unit2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Battles / warsIraq War
WebsiteCampaign website

James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman;[1] August 2, 1984) is an American conservative commentator, politician, venture capitalist, and author.[2] He is best known for his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which attracted significant press attention during the 2016 election.[3]

Vance is the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio, having announced his candidacy to succeed retiring U.S. Senator Rob Portman[4] on July 1, 2021. On May 3, 2022, he won the Republican primary and will face off against Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the November general election.

Early life and education

James David Vance was born on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio, located between Cincinnati and Dayton, as James Donald Bowman, the son of Donald Bowman and Bev Vance. He is of Scots-Irish descent.[5][3][6] His mother and father divorced when Vance was a toddler. Shortly afterward, Vance was adopted by his mother's third husband.[1] Vance and his sister were raised primarily by his grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, whom they called "Mamaw and Papaw".[5][7][8][9] J. D. later went by the name James Hamel, the surname of his stepfather, until finally adopting the surname Vance upon marrying in honor of his grandparents.[10]

Vance was educated at Middletown High School,[11] a public high school in his hometown. After graduating, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps[12] and served in the Iraq War with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, performing public affairs activities.[13][14][15] Vance later graduated summa cum laude from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and philosophy.[16][17] While at Ohio State, he worked for Republican Ohio State Senator Bob Schuler.[18]

After graduating from Ohio State, Vance earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. During his first year at Yale Law, his mentor and professor Amy Chua convinced him to write his memoir.[19]

Career

Vance in 2017

After a stint at a corporate law firm, Vance moved to San Francisco to work in the technology industry. He serves as a principal at Peter Thiel's venture capital firm, Mithril Capital.[20]

In 2016, Harper published his book, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. It was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2016 and 2017. It was a finalist for the 2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize[21] and winner of the 2017 Audie Award for Nonfiction. The New York Times called it "one of the six best books to help understand Trump's win".[3] The Washington Post called him the "voice of the Rust Belt,"[2] while The New Republic criticized him as "liberal media's favorite white trash–splainer" and the "false prophet of blue America".[22] Economist William Easterly, a West Virginia native, criticized the book, "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."[23]

In December 2016, Vance indicated that he planned to move to Ohio to start a nonprofit, and potentially run for office,[24] and work on combating drug addiction in the Rust Belt.[2]

In 2017, he joined Revolution LLC, an investment firm founded by AOL cofounder Steve Case, 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 Silicon Valley and New York City tech bubbles.[25]

In January 2017, Vance became a CNN contributor.[26] In April 2017, Ron Howard signed on to direct a film version of Hillbilly Elegy, which was released by Netflix in 2020, and starred Owen Asztalos and Gabriel Basso as Vance.[27]

In 2019, he co-founded Narya Capital in Cincinnati, Ohio, with financial backing from Peter Thiel, Eric Schmidt, and Marc Andreessen.[28] In 2020, he raised $93 million for the firm.[29] He has also invested in Rumble, a YouTube competitor.[30]

2022 Ohio U.S. Senate campaign

Main article: 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio

J. D. Vance is a candidate for the United States Senate from Ohio, winning the Republican nomination on May 3, 2022.[31][32]

Politics

Vance has been called a populist conservative candidate because he is backed by Peter Thiel and endorsed by Tucker Carlson.[33]

During the 2016 election, Vance was critical of Republican Party nominee Donald Trump. In a column in USA Today in February 2016, Vance wrote "Trump's actual policy proposals, such as they are, range from immoral to absurd."[34] In October 2016, he described Trump as "reprehensible" in a post on Twitter.[35] He also stated his intentions to vote for independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin.[35] Vance later deleted these posts from his Twitter account and, in July 2021, apologized for his criticism of Trump, ahead of his candidacy for United States Senate. He reversed his earlier statements on Trump, saying that he thought Trump was a good president and expressing regret about his statements during the 2016 election.[35] Vance visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with former President Donald Trump, alongside Peter Thiel, ahead of an official announcement.[36]

Vance opposes abortion, and when asked whether abortion laws should include exceptions for rape and incest, he stated "two wrong [sic] don't make a right."[37] Ohio's largest anti-abortion group, Ohio Right to Life, endorsed Vance prior to the 2022 United States Senate primary election in Ohio.[38]

In February 2022, on Steve Bannon's podcast, Vance had said "I gotta be honest with you: I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another" and "spare me the performative affection for the Ukraine." Vance later released a statement about the comments and calling Russia's invasion "unquestionably a tragedy."[39] Vance repeated the "performative affection" remark and criticized "the obsession with Ukraine from our idiot leaders", which "serves no function except to distract us from our actual problems."[40]

In 2021, Vance told podcaster Jack Murphy, who heads a men's group called Liminal Order, that he believed conservatives "should seize the institutions of the left. And turn them against the left. We need like a de-Baathification program, a de-woke-ification program." If Trump were to win re-election in 2024, Vance told Murphy, Trump should "Fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people."[41]

During the campaign Vance falsely claimed that President Biden was flooding Ohio with illegal drugs.[42][43]

Consideration and announcement

In early 2018, Vance was reported to have been considering a bid for U.S. Senate as a Republican running against Democrat Sherrod Brown,[44] but declined to run.[45] In April 2021, Vance expressed interest in running for the Ohio Senate seat being vacated by Republican Rob Portman.[36]

Peter Thiel has given $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.[46][47][48] Robert Mercer also gave an undisclosed amount.[46] In May 2021, Vance launched an exploratory committee.[49] In July 2021, he officially entered the race.[50]

Vance changed his rhetoric after joining the race. In July 2021, Vance apologized for calling Trump "reprehensible."[51] He had previously tweeted that he was a "never-Trump guy."[52] Whereas Vance had once admonished Trump for demonizing immigrants, Vance himself repeatedly called illegal immigration "dirty".[53][54] In October 2021, Vance reiterated Trump's claims of election fraud, falsely stating that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election because of widespread voter fraud.[55]

In April 2022 Vance's run was endorsed by Donald Trump.[52]

In April 2022, Josh McLaurin showed messages Vance had sent him saying that Trump could possibly become either another Richard Nixon or "America's Hitler" during the 2016 presidential campaign.[56]

On May 4, 2022, Vance won the Republican primary for the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Ohio. He defeated multiple candidates including Josh Mandel and Matt Dolan.[57]

Personal life

Vance has been married to a former law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri Vance, since 2014, and they have three children.[58] Their oldest, Ewan Blaine, was born in June 2017, and the most recent, Mirabel Rose, was born in December 2021.[58]

Vance had been raised in a "conservative, evangelical" branch of Protestantism. By September 2016, Vance was "thinking very seriously about converting to Catholicism" and added he was "not an active participant" in any particular religious denomination.[59] In August 2019, Vance converted to Roman Catholicism at a ceremony in Cincinnati, Ohio. In an interview with Rod Dreher after his conversion, Vance said he converted because he "became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true", and described Roman Catholic doctrine's influence on his political views.[60]

Works

  • Vance, J. D. (June 2016). Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Harper. ISBN 9780062300546.

References

  1. ^ a b "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis". Enotes.com. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Heller, Karen (February 6, 2017). "'Hillbilly Elegy' made J.D. Vance the voice of the Rust Belt. But does he want that job?". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "6 Books to Help Understand Trump's Win". The New York Times. November 9, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Arkin, James (July 1, 2021). "J.D. Vance joins already chaotic Ohio Senate primary". Politico.
  5. ^ a b Rothman, Joshua (September 12, 2016). "The Lives of Poor White People". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Kroeger, Alix (April 18, 2021). "JD Vance: Trump whisperer turned Senate hopeful". BBC News. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  7. ^ Kunzru, Hari (December 7, 2016). "Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance review – does this memoir really explain Trump's victory?". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "'Hillbilly Elegy' Recalls A Childhood Where Poverty Was 'The Family Tradition'". NPR. August 17, 2016.
  9. ^ Meibers, Bonnie (November 15, 2020). "'Hillbilly Elegy' is my family's story. I'm happy it shared my Mamaw with the world". Journal-News. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Sewell, Dan (April 16, 2021). "'Hillbilly' to Capitol Hill? Author eyes Senate bid in Ohio". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Clark, Michael D. (March 10, 2017). "Middletown native J.D. Vance's book started with simple question". Journal-News. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  12. ^ "Former Marine J.D. Vance's 'Hillbilly Elegy' Will Be Made into a Movie". Military.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  13. ^ Humel, James D. (November 2, 2005). "VMGR-252 air crews make mission possible in Iraq". DVIDS. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "'Hillbilly Elegy' author J.D. Vance giving virtual talk at NDSU". Williston Herald. January 7, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  15. ^ Stilwell, Blake (October 20, 2020). "Read a Marine Corps PAO Story by 'Hillbilly Elegy' Author JD Vance". Military.com. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "J. D. Vance, Visiting Fellow". American Enterprise Institute. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  17. ^ "J.D. Vance to Speak About Memoir Hillbilly Elegy Feb. 2". Yale Law School. January 27, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  18. ^ Vance, J. D. (2017). Hillbilly Elegy. London: William Collins. p. 181. ISBN 9780008220563. OCLC 965479512. I took a job at the Ohio Statehouse, working for a remarkably kind senator from the Cincinnati area named Bob Schuler. He was a good man, and I liked his politics, so when constituents called and complained, I tried to explain his positions.
  19. ^ Kitchener, Caroline (June 7, 2016). "How the 'Tiger Mom' Convinced the Author of Hillbilly Elegy to Write His Story". The Atlantic.
  20. ^ McBride, Sarah (January 20, 2017). "Peter Thiel's Mithril Capital Raises $850 Million VC Fund". Bloomberg Technology. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  21. ^ "Dayton Literary Peace Prize - Press Release Announcing the 2017 Finalists for Fiction and Nonfiction Awards" (Press release). Dayton Literary Peace Prize. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  22. ^ Jones, Sarah (November 17, 2016). "J.D. Vance, the False Prophet of Blue America". The New Republic. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  23. ^ Easterly, William (2016). "Stereotypes Are Poisoning American Politics". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  24. ^ Hohmann, James. "The Daily 202: Why the author of 'Hillbilly Elegy' is moving home to Ohio". The Washington Post.
  25. ^ Heater, Brian (March 22, 2017). "'Hillbilly Elegy' author J.D. Vance joins Revolution LLC to promote startups outside of Silicon Valley". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  26. ^ Katz, A. J. (January 17, 2017). "CNN Strengthens its Roster of Commentators and Contributors". AdWeek. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  27. ^ Reed, Ryan (April 10, 2017). "Ron Howard to Direct, Produce 'Hillbilly Elegy' Movie". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  28. ^ Vermillion, Stephanie (February 16, 2020). "J.D. Vance's New Cincinnati-based VC Firm Excites Local Startup Leaders". Cincy Inno. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  29. ^ Loizos, Connie (January 9, 2019). "'Hillbilly Elegy' author J.D. Vance has raised $93 million for his own Midwestern venture fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  30. ^ Hagey, Keach (May 19, 2021). "WSJ News Exclusive | Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance Invest in Rumble Video Platform Popular on Political Right". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  31. ^ "Meet JD Vance - Conservative Outsider Running for Senate". JD Vance for Senate Inc. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  32. ^ Goldmacher, Shane; Ulloa, Jazmine (May 3, 2022). "J.D. Vance Wins Republican Senate Primary in Ohio". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  33. ^ Goldman, Samuel (July 15, 2021). "Peter Thiel's implausible populists". The Week. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  34. ^ Vance, J. D. (February 18, 2016). "Trump speaks for those Bush betrayed: Column". USA Today. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  35. ^ a b c Warren, Michael; Steck, Em; Kaczynski, Andrew (July 6, 2021). "Senate hopeful J.D. Vance apologizes for criticizing Trump as 'reprehensible' in deleted tweets". CNN. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  36. ^ a b Primack, Dan (April 15, 2021). "J.D. Vance tells associates he plans to run for Senate in Ohio". Axios. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  37. ^ Wagner, John (September 24, 2021). "Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance argues against need for rape and incest exceptions in abortion laws". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  38. ^ Carr Smyth, Julie (April 7, 2022). Ohio Right to Life backs JD Vance for open US Senate seat. ABC News / AP
  39. ^ Richards, Zoe (February 24, 2022). "Backpedalling J.D. Vance Decides He Actually Does Give a Shit About Ukraine". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  40. ^ Blest, Paul (February 23, 2022). "Trump Thinks Putin Is a 'Genius' for Invading Ukraine". Vice. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  41. ^ Pogue, James (April 20, 2022). "Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  42. ^ Leonhardt, David (May 4, 2022). "A Trump Win in Ohio". The New York Times. Retrieved May 11, 2022. he has turned into a hard-edged conspiracist who claimed President Biden was flooding Ohio with illegal drugs
  43. ^ Kessler, Glen (May 11, 2022). "J.D. Vance's Claim that Biden is Targeting 'MAGA Voters' with Fentanyl". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  44. ^ Gomez, Henry (January 10, 2018). "J.D. Vance Is Now Seriously Considering Running For Senate In Ohio". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  45. ^ Carozza, Vinny. "Middletown native and Ohio State grad decides against Senate run". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  46. ^ a b Kinery, Emma (March 15, 2021). "Peter Thiel, Mercers Back a Potential J.D. Vance Senate Run". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  47. ^ Mathis-Lilley, Ben (March 18, 2021). "J.D. Vance's Potential Senate Campaign Is Shaping Up as a Vicious Assault on People Like J.D. Vance". Slate. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  48. ^ Balmert, Jessie. "Super PAC supporting potential Senate candidate J.D. Vance gets $10 million donation from PayPal cofounder". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
  49. ^ De Lea, Brittany (May 12, 2021). "'Hillbilly Elegy' author J.D. Vance forms exploratory committee to run for Senate seat in Ohio: report". Fox News. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  50. ^ Axelrod, Tal (July 1, 2021). "JD Vance jumps into Ohio Senate primary". The Hill.[permanent dead link]
  51. ^ Warren, Michael; Steck, Em; Kaczynski, Andrew (July 6, 2021). "Senate hopeful J.D. Vance apologizes for criticizing Trump as 'reprehensible' in deleted tweets". CNN. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  52. ^ a b Jill, Colvin; Smyth, Julie Carr. "Trump backs GOP's JD Vance in US Senate primary in Ohio". abcnews.go.com. ABC. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  53. ^ Tracy, Marc (July 27, 2021). "Trump Is Gone, but the Media's Misinformation Challenge Is Still Here". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  54. ^ Tobias, Andrew J. (July 18, 2021). "J.D. Vance used to admonish Donald Trump's 'xenophobic' appeals to voters. Until he decided to run for Senate". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  55. ^ Skolnick, David (October 23, 2021). "Vance spouts Trump talking points on 2020 election loss". Tribune Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  56. ^ "JD Vance Calls Trump 'America's Hitler' in Leaked Texts". YouTube.
  57. ^ Linton, Caroline; Brewster, Adam; Navarro, Aaron. "Ohio primary results: Trump-backed J.D. Vance wins Republican Senate race". CBS News. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  58. ^ a b "Trump-backed JD Vance with Indian connection wins Ohio Primary for US Senate". India Post. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  59. ^ Dallas, Kelsey (September 9, 2016). "Author J.D. Vance: Faith made me believe in a hopeful future". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  60. ^ Dreher, Rod (August 11, 2019). "J.D. Vance Becomes Catholic". The American Conservative. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
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