Tristan Hernandez

MILWAUKEE — On the first day of the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin, former President Donald J. Trump said that he selected J.D. Vance LAW ’13 as his running mate. Trump made the announcement on his social media platform Truth Social.

Vance, the junior Ohio senator elected in 2022, will join Trump in challenging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in November. 

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump wrote. 

Who is J.D. Vance?

Vance, a 39-year-old native of Middletown, Ohio, was elected senator in 2022, beating Representative Tim Ryan after former Senator Rob Portman announced his retirement.

Before his election, Vance had never held political office. He was a venture capitalist, best known for his 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which became a New York Times bestseller.  

After graduating high school, Vance served in the Marine Corps. He received his undergraduate degree in political science and philosophy from Ohio State University.  

Later, Vance attended Yale Law School, where he met his wife Usha Vance ’07 LAW ’13. While at Yale, law professor Amy Chua, herself an author, encouraged Vance to write his memoir about his life in rural Ohio.

In 2017, Vance returned to Yale for an event sponsored by the William F. Buckley, Jr. Program. At the talk, Vance discussed his personal experiences growing up in a poor family in the Midwest and a discussion of the American working class. 

An attendee at the event previously told the News that the turnout for Vance was “unprecedented” for a speaker event at Yale that did not feature a major political figure as Vance was not elected to political office at the time.  

With Vance’s selection, both Republicans on the ticket have connections to the Ivy League, as Trump graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Though both have advanced degrees, neither Biden or Harris attended Ivy League institutions. 

Before running for political office, Vance was a Trump critic but has since become a staunch ally of the 45th president. 

When competing in the Republican primary for Ohio senator, he gained a key endorsement from Trump that helped to clinch the nomination, and he is one of the former president’s strongest allies in the Senate. 

In office, he has stuck with a tough conservative brand, opposing abortion and foreign aid for Ukraine while promoting an “America First” political agenda. 

Out of the people on Trump’s VP shortlist, which also included Florida Senator Marco Rubio and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Vance has been most loyal to Trump and his “Make America Great Again” political movement.

The Republican National Convention will last until July 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.