Who is JD Vance, Trump’s choice for vice president?

Senator J.D. Vancethe junior senator from Ohio, has come a long way in a short time since publishing his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” months before Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016.

On Monday, Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that Vance is his vice presidential candidate.

Vance, 39, joined the US Senate just last year. Here you can find out everything you need to know about him.

Vance’s book “Hillbilly Elegy” catapulted him into fame

Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, was a hit in 2016 and tells Vance’s personal story against the backdrop of the struggles in the Appalachian Mountains and the Rust Belt of the United States.

A central message of Vance’s book was that Americans in economically and socially depressed areas can improve their lives only through their own willpower. But the book also gave Americans in coastal and wealthier areas a glimpse into the lives of the people who formed the backbone of Trump’s support in 2016. When Trump won, Vance’s book became a bible of sorts for politicians and the media to better understand the people who voted for Trump and how a real estate mogul from New York could appeal to struggling Americans in the Rust Belt.

“JD’s book, Hillbilly Elegy, became a huge bestseller and was made into a movie because of its advocacy for the hardworking men and women of our country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social when he announced Vance as his running mate. “JD has had a very successful business career in technology and finance and will now focus heavily on the people he fought so brilliantly for during the campaign, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and far beyond.”

Vance had a difficult childhood

Vance was born James Donald Bowman in Middletown, Ohio in August 1984. He was 6 years old when his biological father gave him up for adoption to his stepfather. His name changed from James Donald Bowman to James David Vance.

Vance’s childhood was turbulent. Not only did his father leave the family, but his mother also struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, which Vance documented in his book. Vance spent much of his childhood with his grandparents in Kentucky. His grandmother, a “Blue Dog” Democrat who owned 19 handguns, according to Vance’s Senate biography, had a major influence on his life.

After graduating from high school, Vance joined the U.S. Marine Corps.

He holds a law degree from Yale

As Vance explains in detail in his book, he initially found it challenging to adapt to the social expectations and nuances of Yale University’s elite culture. Vance graduated from Yale University with a law degree in 2013.

Vance’s wife Usha is a successful lawyer

Vance met his Indian-American wife, Usha Chilukuri, at Yale. They married in 2014. She is a litigator and clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts and for Chief Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was a federal judge. Vance and Chilukuri have three young children.