J. D. Vance
James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman; August 2, 1984) is an American venture capitalist, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2023.[1][2] A member of the Republican Party, he came to prominence with his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.
J. D. Vance
James Hamel Vance
3
2003–2007
Born in Middletown, Ohio, Vance studied political science and philosophy at Ohio State University before earning a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. His memoir, which describes his upbringing in Middletown and his family's Appalachian values, became a New York Times bestseller and attracted significant press attention during the 2016 United States presidential election.[3] Vance launched his first political campaign for Ohio's Senate seat in 2021 and won the Republican nomination. He defeated Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the general election.
Vance was a critic of Donald Trump during the 2016 election, becoming a member of the Never Trump movement, but changed his rhetoric after announcing his candidacy for the Senate. During his tenure in the Senate, he has been a staunch Trump loyalist and defender of Trump's most authoritarian assertions.[4]
Early life and education[edit]
James David Vance was born on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio, between Cincinnati and Dayton, as James Donald Bowman, the son of Donald Bowman and Bev Vance. Of Scots-Irish descent,[5][3][6][7] his mother and father divorced when Vance was a toddler. Shortly afterward, he was adopted by his mother's third husband.[5] Vance and his sister were raised primarily by his grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, whom they called "Mamaw and Papaw."[6][8][9][10] J. D. later went by the name James Hamel, his stepfather's surname, until adopting his grandparents' surname, Vance.[11]
Vance was educated at Middletown High School,[12] a public high school in his hometown. After graduating, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps[13] and served in the Iraq War as a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.[14][15][16][17] Vance later attended Ohio State University, graduating in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in political science and philosophy.[18][19] While at Ohio State, he worked for Republican Ohio State Senator Bob Schuler.[20]
After graduating from Ohio State, Vance attended Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. During his first year, his professor Amy Chua, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, persuaded him to write his memoir.[21] Vance graduated from Yale in 2013 with a Juris Doctor.
Personal life[edit]
Vance has been married to a former law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri Vance, since 2014. They have three children.[112] For much of his professional career, Vance and his family have lived in San Francisco, where they were active in community gardening.[113]
Vance was raised in a "conservative, evangelical" branch of Protestantism, but by September 2016, he was "thinking very seriously about converting to Catholicism" but was "not an active participant" in any particular religious denomination.[114] In August 2019, Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in a ceremony at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio. He chose Augustine of Hippo as his Confirmation saint. Vance said he converted because he "became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true", and described Catholic theology's influence on his political views.[115]
Also in 2019, the first issue of The Lamp, which has since been called "a Catholic version of The New Yorker",[116] included an essay by Vance describing the reasons for his conversion to Roman Catholicism.[117]