The rapid ascent of Ohio Sen. JD Vance to the presidential ticket after just 18 months in the Senate has certainly gotten officials on both sides of the aisle talking, and that includes Illinois leaders.
Vance will not only be introducing himself to delegates at the RNC when he speaks on Wednesday night, but he will also be giving the American public a first look at the journey that has brought him from best-selling authorship to a spot on the ticket in one of the most hotly contested elections in U.S. history.
The Ohio senator, named former President Donald Trump’s running mate on Monday, will be introduced by his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance during the primetime slot at the RNC Wednesday, and will likely discuss the working class roots he chronicled in the 2016 book “Hillbilly Elegy.”
He was first elected to the Senate in 2023, but in the seven years between the book’s publication and his ascent to the Senate, his political views have undergone remarkable changes as well.
“I’m a never-Trump guy. I never liked him,” he had told PBS’ Charlie Rose in a 2016 interview.
Now, Vance is firmly in Trump’s corner, having pushed hard for the former president’s policies in Washington.
“(He said) ‘we’ve gotta go save this country,’” he told Fox News of his conversation with the former president prior to accepting the spot as his running mate. “’I think you’re the guy who can help me in the best way. You can help me govern. You can help me win.’”
Vance’s upbringing will likely resonate among rural voters in Illinois, and State Sen. Terri Bryant believes that story and his status as the first millennial on a major electoral ticket will help inspire young residents.
“That is a demographic we really want to focus on,” Bryant said. “I think they’re going to love JD Vance. Remember, I come from the part of Illinois that we know is God’s country. In that part of the country, JD Vance’s story resonates loud and clear.”
Democrats are also hoping Vance’s placement on the ticket will help emphasize the GOP stances on abortion.
“He is someone who has ridiculed women’s rights, and there’s a pretty long list of very extreme views that he holds,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
With both sides pointing to areas where Vance can potentially help or hurt the ticket, Northwestern History Professor Mike Allen says that the senator’s successes as a TV personality dovetail perfectly with what vice presidents have been expected to do.
“One role that the vice president has played in American politics is the so-called attack dog,” he said. “The president stays above the fray, engages in kind of a unifying rhetoric, appeals to the center, and the vice president turns out the hard-hitting red meat that turns out the base.”
After Vance’s speech Wednesday, his next real shot to get in front of American voters will be potential debates with Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris has agreed to three debates, but the Trump team has not yet signed off on the format of those televised debates.