J.D. Vance

James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman) is an American politician, lawyer, veteran, and a New York Times bestselling author, who has served as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he is the party's nominee for vice president in the 2024 election.After graduating from high school in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, Vance served from 2003 to 2007 as a combat correspondent, with six months in Iraq. He then attended Ohio State University, graduating in 2009. He graduated from Yale Law School in 2013. His 2016 bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy got significant press attention during the 2016 election and became a feature film in 2020. It describes his upbringing in the Rust Belt, poverty, drug addiction, and Appalachian culture.Vance defeated Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio. Initially opposed to Donald Trump's candidacy in the 2016 election, Vance has since become a strong Trump supporter. On July 15, 2024, Trump nominated Vance as his running mate at the Republican National Convention. He is the first US Marine veteran to be nominated for vice president.