Who is JD Vance? What to know about Senate candidate
- Vance is a venture capitalist who runs Narya, an Ohio-based venture capital firm he founded and launched in 2020 for startups around the country.
- Vance’s real claim to fame is his career as a conservative commentator, which was ignited by the success of his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” a New York Times bestseller.
- Vance has been backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel – who donated $10 million to a Super PAC supporting Vance – Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The Ohio race for retiring Republican Senator Rob Portman’s seat is crowded. A long list of Republican and Democratic candidates that includes businessmen, attorneys and seasoned politicians is competing for Ohio’s vote.
One of the most prominent Republican names is JD Vance, a venture capitalist and conservative commentator who appears regularly on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show.
Vance burst onto the political media scene in 2016 when his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” about growing up in a small Midwest town made him a media voice of the white working-class during the 2016 presidential election.
Having never held public office, he has leaned into his status as an “outsider,” branding himself as the anti-establishment candidate.
Vance has been backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel – who donated $10 million to a Super PAC supporting Vance – Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Who is JD Vance?
Vance has a few titles.
He is a venture capitalist who runs Narya, an Ohio-based venture capital firm he founded and launched in 2020 for startups around the country.
He got his start in the venture capital world at Mithril Capital, an investment firm co-founded by Thiel, a Republican super-donor who was an early investor in Facebook. Vance has held top positions in venture capital funds, including Revolution LLC.
But Vance’s real claim to fame is his career as a conservative commentator, which was ignited by the success of his 2016 memoir, a New York Times bestseller. Cable news shows frequently booked Vance for appearances during the 2016 election.
He has kept his political celebrity, amassing close to 200,000 followers on Twitter in the time since. He became a vocal supporter of Trump, despite criticizing him before the election, and remains a network TV regular.
How old is JD Vance?
Vance was born on August 2, 1984. He is 37 years old.
Where is JD Vance from?
Vance was born and raised in Middletown, Ohio, a small town of less than 50,000 residents near Cincinnati and Dayton.
Where does JD Vance live?
Vance is based in Cincinnati, according to his Twitter profile.
What is JD Vance’s net worth?
Online reports show varying and unconfirmed figures for Vance’s net worth, but his senate financial disclosure provides some insight into his wealth and earnings.
According to the report, Vance earned more than $1 million in non-investment income, including a $408,000 salary from Nayra and $347,000 in royalties from his memoir.
The report lists more than 100 investments with their total value ranging from $4 million to $10 million. Congressional guidelines allow candidates and lawmakers to report their wealth using wide ranges rather than specific values.
Who is JD Vance running against?
There are eight candidates in the Republican primary including Vance.
Among them are former Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken, Ohio State Sen. Matt Dolan, Cleveland businessman Mike Gibbons and former Ohio treasurer Josh Mandel.
Portman endorsed Timken to be his successor. Trump has endorsed a number of midterm candidates across the country, but he has yet to endorse a candidate in the Ohio senate race.
What is JD Vance’s platform?
Vance’s campaign outlines thirteen issues.
The main economic issues include revitalizing American manufacturing and addressing inflation. His platform suggests raising taxes on large corporations that do business overseas while cutting taxes for small American businesses.
Another of his key issues is immigration. Vance wants to finish building Trump’s wall and increase the number of Border Patrol agents. According to his campaign, Vance would oppose amnesty for undocumented migrants in the United States and favor a more stringent merit-based immigration system than is in place already.
Other promises involve some of the hot-button conservative issues that have taken shape in the Biden era. Vance says he will support cutting funding to universities that teach critical race theory or “radical gender ideology” and break up big tech companies, which Vance says censor conservatives.
Vance also opposes abortion, favors gun rights, and supports further voting requirements such as showing your ID to vote and ending expanded mail-in voting.
Is JD Vance a lawyer?
Vance earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 2013 after graduating from Ohio State University with a degree in political science and philosophy in 2009.
Vance worked briefly as a lawyer for Sidley Austin, an Illinois-based firm, before he pursued an investing career in Silicon Valley.
Was JD Vance a Marine?
Vance joined the Marines in 2003 after graduating from high school. He served in the Iraq War, working in public affairs for the Corps. Vance was discharged from the Marines in 2007.
Is ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ about JD Vance?
Yes, “Hillbilly Elegy” is Vance’s memoir. It details his rocky childhood in Middletown, Ohio and joining the Marines before pursuing an education at Ohio State University and Yale Law School.
The book was made into a 2020 Netflix film starring Amy Adams.
Who is JD Vance’s wife?
Vance married a fellow Yale Law School classmate, Usha Chilukuri Vance. Chilukuri is a lawyer at Munger, Tolles & Olson, a private law firm. She clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts from 2017 to 2018 and for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh from 2014 to 2015, when Kavanaugh was a federal district judge. Vance and Chilukuri have two children together.
What are JD Vance’s views on Ukraine?
Vance made headlines in February when he said “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,” on Steve Bannon’s podcast, just days before Putin launched his invasion. Vance said he thought Joe Biden should focus on border security at the U.S.-Mexico border, and not Ukraine’s border.
Vance doubled down on this sentiment as the war in Ukraine broke out. His campaign website features a pop-up window with the message “Secure our Southern Border and NOT Ukraine’s border!” — a message he has repeated on Twitter.
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