GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance is gearing up for the most important speech of his political career — his address at the Republican National Convention, which will introduce him to a new national audience.
Vance, 39, is expected to lean heavily on his personal story and humble upbringing in the speech, which is expected to begin around 10 p.m.
He’ll also have a chance to introduce his wife, Usha, and three children to the world.
Vance grew up in rural Ohio in a family that struggled with addiction, he recounted in his bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was adapted into a major motion picture in 2020. He went on to become a Marine, Yale law school graduate and venture capitalist.
Vance ultimately broke through the GOP ranks at breakneck speed, becoming a darling of the MAGA movement he once denounced.
The once self-proclaimed “Never Trumper” decried the then-candidate in 2016 as “America’s Hitler,” before embracing the former president and building a strong bond with his new running mate’s family.
“I bought into the media’s lies and distortions,” Vance said in a Fox News interview Monday, just hours after Trump announced his selection.
He was elected to the Senate in 2022 with the help of Trump’s backing.
Recent polling suggests that many voters remain unfamiliar with or ambivalent toward Vance.
A CNN poll conducted late last month found 56 percent of registered voters surveyed had never heard of Vance, while 15 percent had no opinion.
While he’s expected to largely back Trump’s positions, Vance already has positioned himself as a hard-liner against abortion rights and LGBTQ rights. He’s also a Ukraine aid skeptic who advocates for a crackdown at the southern border and the mass deportation of people who are illegally in the U.S.
The Hill has a complete rundown of where Vance stands on the most pressing campaign issues here.
