JD Vance speaks during former President Donald Trump's Sept. 17, 2022, rally in Youngstown, Ohio. On July 15, Trump named Vance as his running mate on the Republican ticket in November. (OSV News/Reuters/Gaelen Morse)
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Former President Donald Trump on July 15 named Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, a Catholic, as his running mate on the Republican ticket in November.
Trump was widely expected to name his running mate at the Republican National Convention, which began the same day.
"After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio," Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. "J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association."
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Vance, author of "Hillbilly Elegy," was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022 after a contentious primary election in the Buckeye State, in which he got Trump's endorsement. Vance, who is Catholic, is married to Usha Vance, a litigator. The couple has three young children.
Trump said Vance "will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond."
Vance, was at one time a staunch critic of Trump, but became a closer ally of the former president as he campaigned for the U.S. Senate, and is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues like foreign policy.
If elected, Vance would be just the second Catholic to serve as vice president in U.S. history. The first is President Joe Biden, who served vice president for two terms before his own election to the White House in 2020 made him the second Catholic to serve as U.S. president.
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