JD Vance is the Republican voice of progressivism

Former President Donald Trump has chosen Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate for November, signaling a fundamental shift in the Republican Party’s course away from conservatism as we know it.

Vance became famous with his memoirs Hillbilly Elegythat documented his childhood, interwoven with commentary on rural Appalachian culture. Vance joined the Marines after high school, graduated from Ohio State University, and then earned a law degree from Yale University. He was elected to the Senate in 2022 and has since made a name for himself as one of the leading national populists on Capitol Hill.

Vance would be different from any Republican vice president in recent history for several reasons: He would be the youngest since Richard Nixon, the first since Charles Curtis to have facial hair, and the least conservative since Nelson Rockefeller.

Vance has championed numerous progressive economic reforms that defy the conservative consensus of a generally free-market economy. He praised President Joe Biden’s appointee of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, and expressed his view that it is the government’s responsibility to “build a competitive market.” He also co-authored a populist banking bill with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who said he was “great” to work with.

He supports raising the minimum wage and criticizes the “libertarians” who argue against it. He says that if the minimum wage is raised to $20 an hour, some jobs will be lost, but “the workers who are still around will make more.” Vance looks at economics beyond a simple left-right divide and has said he is open to the policies of the “Bernie Bros” but rejects the “center-right conservatives” and “center-left liberals.”

Vance also represents a moderate approach to foreign policy that runs counter to the Republican consensus of the post-World War II and Cold War era. While he remains strong in his support for Israel, the vice presidential candidate has said, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine.” Although Vance has been relatively consistent in his commitment to social conservatism, he has been criticized by pro-lifers for recently changing his mind and supporting access to abortion pills.

Given these positions, it is clear that Vance would appeal to a very different group of voters than those that have characterized the Republican Party over the past few decades. Since Vance is fundamentally a progressive who holds socially conservative views, he could potentially appeal to the “unwoke” faction of the Democratic Party that has been disenfranchised by the left-wing establishment.

Another important aspect of Vance’s story is his shift in attitude toward Trump. He went from being a “never Trump guy” to one of the former president’s strongest defenders. That could encourage those who never voted for Trump to change their minds for the first time in 2024.

Vance’s progressive transformation of the Republican Party was evident from the first day of the Republican National Convention. When he walked onto the convention floor after being named Trump’s running mate, his entrance song was Merle Haggard’s “America First,” which he wrote as a protest against the presidency of George W. Bush. In addition, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien gave a speech about “big banks,” “corporatists,” and “big business” that traditionally would have been booed by conservatives and should have been shouted out.

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Vance has made it his mission to rebrand progressive economics as conservative, which will not bode well if his policy ideas are fully implemented. The media is already starting to label Vance an extremist, but the risk with him is not that he is too far to the right, but rather that he is too far to the left.

Right now, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. His personal story is inspiring, he has a beautiful young family, and he is half the age of the presidential candidates of both major parties.