J.D. Vance, U.S. Senator

J.D. Vance is an American politician and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was announced and nominated as Donald Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket for the 2024 United States presidential election during the 2024 Republican National Convention, making him the first millennial on a presidential ticket of a major party in the United States.

Born in Middletown, Ohio, Vance served in the Marine Corps before studying political science and philosophy at Ohio State University and earning a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. He came to prominence with his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which describes his upbringing in Middletown and his family's Appalachian values. It became a New York Times bestseller and attracted significant press attention during the 2016 United States presidential election. Originally, Vance was a critic of Trump and in 2016 wrote a critical piece in The Atlantic against him, but he later came to support him. Vance launched his first political campaign for Ohio's Senate seat in 2021 and won the Republican nomination after being endorsed by Trump. He defeated Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the general election.

Family life

Vance was born on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio, as James Donald Bowman, the son of Donald Bowman and Bev Vance. Of Scots-Irish descent, his mother and father divorced when Vance was a toddler. Shortly afterward, he was legally adopted by his mother's third husband, Robert "Bob" Hamel. Vance and his sister were raised primarily by his grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, whom they called "Mamaw and Papaw."

Vance has been married to a former law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri Vance, since 2014. They have three children. For much of his professional career, Vance and his family lived in San Francisco.

(Above via Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Name changes

J.D. Vance was born James Donald Bowman. His middle name, Donald, was chosen for his father, Donald Bowman. After his parents divorced, his mother married Robert Hamel, who became his legal father. Vance's name was then changed to James David Hamel, keeping the "D" initial and preserving "J.D.," his universal nickname. Vance and his wife, Usha, then legally adopted his mother's birth surname, Vance, when they married.

Sources

• "J. D. Vance." Wikipedia, revision of 15 July 2024. < link > Accessed 15 July 2024.

Additional reading

• Davis O'Brien, Rebecca. "J.D. Vance Was Not Always His Name. But It's the One That Felt Closest to Home." The New York Times, published 15 July 2024. < link > Accessed 15 July 2024.
• Meibers, Bonnie. "'Hillbilly Elegy' is my family's story. I'm happy it shared my Mamaw with the world." The Dayton Daily News, published 2020. < link > Accessed 15 July 2024.
• Ward, Ian. "55 Things to Know About J.D. Vance, Trump's VP Pick." Politico Magazine, published 15 July 2024. < link > Accessed 15 July 2024.