J. D. Vance

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JD Vance
Official portrait, 2023
United States Senator from Ohio
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023 Serving with Sherrod Brown
Preceded by	Rob Portman
Personal details
Born	James Donald Bowman (1984-08-02) August 2, 1984 (age 39) Middletown, Ohio, US
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Usha Chilukuri ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	3
Education	Ohio State University (BA) Yale University (JD)
Occupation	Politician author venture capitalist lawyer
Signature
Website	Senate website
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	2003–2007
Rank	Corporal
Unit	2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Battles/wars	Iraq War
Awards	Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Iraq Campaign Medal Navy and Marine Corps Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
JD Vance's voice JD Vance questions witnesses on the effectiveness of Russian sanctions Recorded February 28, 2023

James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman; August 2, 1984) is an American politician, lawyer, author, and US Marine veteran who has been serving 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 United States presidential election.

After graduating from Middletown High School, 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.

In 2021, Vance entered electoral politics as a Republican candidate in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio, which he won defeating the Democratic nominee Tim Ryan. Initially opposed to Donald Trump's candidacy in the 2016 election, Vance has since become a strong Trump supporter. In July 2024, Trump nominated Vance as his running mate at the Republican National Convention. He is the first Marine veteran to be nominated for vice president.

Vance has been called a neoreactionary, national conservative, and a right-wing populist. He has cited Curtis Yarvin, Rod Dreher, and Patrick Deneen as influences on his ideological views and describes himself as a member of the postliberal right. On social issues, he has promoted strongly conservative policies, opposing abortion, same-sex marriage and gun control and is in favor of banning pornography and transgender healthcare for minors. Vance differs from mainstream Republican views on taxes, the minimum wage, unionization, tariffs, and antitrust policy, while opposing American military aid to Ukraine.