10 Things You Didn't Know About J. D. Vance

10-Things-You-Didnt-Know-about-JD-Vance

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re breaking down the life and career of the senator from Ohio turned 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate.

#10: He’s “Hillbilly Royalty”

And, to be clear, that’s a badge of honor that he wears proudly. Born James Donald Bowman, he was adopted by his mother’s then-husband and rechristened “Hamel.” Raised primarily by his grandparents due to a fraught relationship with his unstable mother (more on that soon), Vance may be more connected to the history of the United States than just being an elected official. A distant cousin of his grandfather’s married into, yes, that Hatfield family. The story of the historical Hatfield-McCoy feud is literally that of American mythology, and could probably warrant a list of its own. While we won’t get into all of that right now, it’s rumored that Jim Vance murdered Asa Harmon McCoy, setting off a bitter, bloody battle that stretched from 1863 into 1891.

#9: He Was Raised By His Grandparents

If you know anything about JD Vance, it’s that he’s made his deeply troubled Appalachian upbringing a major component of his backstory and overall narrative. Vance’s biological parents divorced when he was little, and he never saw eye to eye with his mother, who married five times. Vance has been open about his mother’s erratic behavior, which once saw her drive the family car up to “what seemed like a hundred miles per hour and told me that she was going to crash the car and kill us both.” He’s called being adopted “without question or qualification, the best things that ever happened to me.” Curiously, Vance’s grandparents were proud Democrats, preaching inclusivity and only ever veering when his grandfather voted for President Reagan in 1984.

#8: PayPal Founder Peter Thiel Is His Biggest Champion

This Silicon Valley tech magnate and prominent venture capitalist is, for better or worse, responsible for cultivating a new era of critical thinkers. For example, Thiel played a crucial role in familiarizing the general public with Elon Musk after PayPal acquired the latter’s X.com in 2000. Thiel was also integral in setting Vance loose on to the global stage — the latter has called a talk by Thiel at Yale his most significant moment there. Vance’s first post-Yale employment opportunity was at Mithril Capital, a venture capital firm founded and operated by Thiel. The entrepreneur later donated over $10 million to Vance’s senate campaign.

#7: Started Writing “Hillbilly Elegy” While Enrolled at Yale

Interestingly enough, even though “Hillbilly Elegy” put Vance on the map, Donald Trump’s running mate never intended to become an author. Vance has even said that “I thought the idea that I could write a meaningful book was kind of arrogant and presumptuous. But then I started writing little things here and there.” It also turns out that Peter Thiel wasn’t Vance’s only champion — he was strongly encouraged to journal his experiences growing up by Amy Chua. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Chua is not only a law professor at Yale, but the author of the controversial memoir “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.”

#6: He Was Baptized in 2019

Vance’s relationship with religion has evolved notably over his time in the public eye. Raised in a conservative Protestant tradition, he began seriously contemplating converting to Catholicism in 2016. By 2019, the future senator had fully embraced this new faith, being both baptized and confirmed as a Catholic. Vance explained that his decision was driven by a belief in the truth of Catholicism and the influence of Saint Augustine. He found Augustine’s writings provided a profoundly intellectual framework for understanding Christian faith. Augustine of Hippo, whom Vance chose as his confirmation saint, played a key role in shaping his spiritual journey. Vance’s choice to finally make the leap was reportedly influenced by Peter Thiel.

#5: He Started Out As a Major Trump Hater

They may play nice now that they share a presidential ticket, but Senator Vance and former President Trump weren’t always so tight. In fact, in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, Vance made a number of comments that were unmistakably anti-Trump in nature. These weren’t gentle barbs or tentative critiques — Vance is on the record as describing Trump as being “reprehensible,” as well as publicly musing if he could become “America’s Hitler.” Vance even went as far as referring to himself as a “Never Trump guy.” Vance publicly apologized to Trump and backtracked on his criticisms of the 45th president after announcing his candidacy for the senate.

#4: Met His Wife While at Yale

It would seem that going to law school does have its benefits after all — besides, you know, the whole “law degree” thing. Both students at Yale Law School, Vance met Usha Chilukuri (now Usha Vance) in 2011. An accomplished lawyer in her own right, Usha worked as a law clerk for several notable judges, including future Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh. Politico notes that, despite Usha’s obvious conservative affiliations, her personal political beliefs leaned more moderate or even liberal. Vance described her in “Hillbilly Elegy” by saying that “if she had possessed a terrible personality, she would have made an excellent heroine in an Ayn Rand novel, but she had a great sense of humor.”

#3: He Changed His Mind About Trump

Now that they’re running to reclaim the White House for the Republican Party, we’d sure hope so! As we mentioned earlier, Vance and Trump were hardly buddies after the 2016 election. But over time, Vance did extensive damage control and retracted a number of personal attacks he had made on the former President. Managing to score Trump’s endorsement was a major coup for Vance. While running, Vance called Trump “the best president of [his] lifetime,” elaborating by saying that he regretted “being wrong about the guy.” Vance is also quoted as saying “I think he was a good president, I think he made a lot of good decisions for people, and I think he took a lot of flak.”

#2: He’s Committed to Fighting the Culture War

Make no mistake about it: despite being raised by “union blue” Democrats, Vance is a modern-day, capital-C conservative, through and through. As noted by Politico, the senator’s worldview can most succinctly be described by saying that “pushing back against the cultural values of progressive elites is necessary to advance the economic and political interests of the working class.” Vance supports a 15-week abortion ban (with some exceptions), is opposed to the Respect for Marriage Act, and has suggested that Joe Biden is responsible for the U.S. opioid epidemic because of a lack of security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

#1: He’s Not Afraid to Partner With Progressives

Isn’t it nice when we can all get along? On multiple occasions, the junior senator from Ohio has proven himself willing to reach across the aisle as a means of getting things done. In 2023, the Boston Globe reported that Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had specifically sought out Vance’s help in passing a bill that would “claw back the pay and bonuses awarded to top executives at failed banks.” Warren was drawn to Vance because, as Sam Brodey wrote for the Globe at the time, he “had styled himself as a populist, anti-corporate Republican skeptical of the party’s longtime anti-tax and free trade orthodoxy.” Although the two have since publicly traded jabs, the Globe reported that Warren had called Vance “terrific to work with” at the time.

Who’s your favorite senator from Ohio? Let us know in the comments below!