JD Vance and how a “hillbilly” from Ohio studied Law at Yale University
Republican VP candidate JD Vance became a household name thanks to his best-selling book ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ which he began while studying at Yale.
The 2024 presidential election in the end is not a rematch of the 2020 race for the White House. That year, it was Biden and Harris versus Trump and Pence.
After overwhelming pressure from party leaders, Joe Biden stepped aside as the Democratic candidate passing the torch to his vice president, Kamala Harris. The Republican ticket is once again headed by Donald Trump, but his running mate for his third go at the top job in the US is junior senator from Ohio JD Vance.
Mike Pence it can be assumed didn’t want to serve under the man who sent an angry mob to the US Capitol to stop the Electoral vote count on January 6, 2021, and constructed gallows for the then-vice president overseeing the ceremony. In fact, he challenged Trump to be the GOP standard-bearer in 2024.
So, how is it that Vance, a relatively novice politician having served in the Senate only since January 2023, become the No. 2 on the Republican presidential ticket?
JD Vance and how a “hillbilly” from Ohio studied Law at Yale University
Vance was born and raised in working-class Middletown, Ohio but through his family has ties to Eastern Kentucky. In his memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ he said that as a child, he made frequent visits to his great-grandmother’s home near Jackson in Breathitt County, Kentucky and spent summers there.
The Republican vice presidential candidate enlisted with the US Marine Corp after graduating from high school in 2003. He did a six-month tour in Iraq in a non-combat role working as a military journalist. He obtained the rank of Corporal for his time in the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing unit.
After Vance left the US military, he used the G.I. Bill to attend Ohio State University where he earned his undergraduate degree in political science and philosophy, graduating summa cum laude in 2009. The following year he attended Yale Law where he not only earned a spot at the prestigious school but also got a full ride the first year.
It was there that he began writing the manuscript that would turn into ‘Hillbilly Elegy’. After reading ‘Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother’, a book written by the professor of his first-year contracts class, Amy Chua, he wrote an essay about growing up with a drug-addicted mother, that she told him could be a book. With her encouragement he expanded on the topic and turned it into a memoir.
She introduced him to her agent and the book was published in 2016. It became a bestseller and was turned into a Netflix movie in 2020. He was launched into the limelight.
Along with his fame, he also acquired a powerful benefactor in the form of Silicon Valley entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist Peter Thiel, for whom he had worked for in San Francisco. The billionaire gave him a boost when Vance sought Trump’s endorsement in his 2022 run for senate. It was Don Jr and Eric who pushed their father to pick the now-senator to be his VP pick on the 2024 ticket.