Former President Donald Trump has selected Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, elevating a staunch ally and young GOP star who, less than a decade ago, rose to prominence as a Trump critic.
Vance, 39, hails from the Senate GOP’s Trump wing, frequently — and loudly — battling with leadership and Democrats while finding bipartisan common ground on some issues. By selecting Vance, Trump eschewed calls from some in the party to choose a running mate who would add racial diversity to the ticket or use softer rhetoric to appeal to Trump-skeptical moderates.
Vance could expand Trump’s appeal in other ways, however. He hails from the Rust Belt, which includes portions of the critical swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. He’s also a Marine veteran, and would be the second youngest vice president — tied with Richard Nixon — if Trump wins in November.
But Vance’s past harsh criticisms of Trump — which he has vehemently walked back — will almost certainly be used against him by Democrats.
In his selection, Trump is elevating Vance as an heir to the MAGA movement. He is also putting an enormous amount of trust in the freshman senator, just days after an apparent assassination attempt on the former president served as a grim reminder of the significance of the vice president in any administration.
The author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a 2016 memoir-turned-movie about growing up poor in Appalachia, Vance during the 2016 presidential race served as an anti-Trump conservative pundit. He compared GOP voters’ newfound interest in Trump to a heroin addiction, privately speculated about whether Trump was “America’s Hitler,” referred to himself as a “Never Trump guy” and to Trump as “an idiot,” and declared after the 2016 election that he had not voted for Trump.
His own words were featured in GOP primary attack ads when Vance ran for Senate in 2022, though he ultimately broke through a crowded field of Republicans and secured Trump’s endorsement. He went on to win the seat held by former Sen. Rob Portman, a moderate Republican who retired.
Vance in recent months has attempted to moderate his position on abortion, one of Republicans’ top vulnerabilities this election. After referring to abortion as “murder” last year, and during his 2022 race saying he would vote for a national 15-week abortion limit, Vance more recently has praised Trump’s leave-it-to-the-states abortion platform, and said he shared Trump’s support of access to the mifepristone abortion pill.
Vance positioned himself this spring to be a top contender for Trump’s running mate, appearing as a surrogate for Trump on television and attending his Manhattan criminal trial as part of the former president’s entourage of supporters.
And he has shared in recent years a close relationship with Trump’s son, Don Jr., who was among those close to Trump praising Vance before his selection. Vance, who worked as a venture capitalist in San Francisco after law school, has relationships with wealthy donors. He has helped organize fundraisers for Trump this year featuring Silicon Valley types, including David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, hosts of the popular “All In” podcast.
But Vance starts his candidacy as relatively unknown among the electorate. A national CNN/SSRS poll late last month found that 56 percent had never heard of him. And an additional 15 percent had heard of him but had no opinion about him.
Should the GOP prevail in November’s presidential race, Vance would be immediately tasked with negotiating with Republicans in Congress on behalf of Trump — a tough responsibility once shouldered by former Vice President Mike Pence. But Vance will bring a different style than Pence to the ticket: The first-term Ohio Republican has emerged as a foil to GOP and Democratic leaders alike, criticizing the Senate’s bipartisan foreign aid package and holding up Justice Department nominees.
Vance has also signed onto bipartisan deals, most notably a rail safety bill he worked on with his home state colleague Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who is up for reelection this fall. At the same time, Vance backed Brown’s Republican opponent, Bernie Moreno, early in the election cycle. Trump endorsed Moreno in that race’s primary, a sign of the close political coordination between Trump and Vance.
If Trump and Vance win in November, Vance’s vacant Senate seat will be filled by Gov. Mike DeWine, a moderate Ohio Republican who has yet to endorse Trump this election. Eventually, a special election would be held to replace Vance in Ohio, which tilts to the right.
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