J.D. Vance, Author Of 'Hillbilly Elegy,' Announces Bid For Ohio Senate Seat

J.D. Vance , a venture capitalist and author of the bestselling Hillbilly Elegy, said Thursday hes running for Ohios open Senate seat, joining an already crowded field of Republicans .

I think we need people in Washington who are fighters and not just fighters, but smart fighters, Vance said in Middletown, Ohio. There are a lot of fighters in Washington, D.C. They just fight for the wrong things.

Wow. Just overwhelmed with gratitude. Thanks to my friends at Middletown Tube and the whole town for giving me such a welcome.

Help us out if you can. https://t.co/ZNPUHVwDXc

J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) July 2, 2021","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"J.D. Vance","author_url":"https://twitter.com/JDVance1","cache_age":86400,"description":"Wow. Just overwhelmed with gratitude. Thanks to my friends at Middletown Tube and the whole town for giving me such a welcome. Help us out if you can. https://t.co/ZNPUHVwDXc J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) July 2, 2021\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"J.D. Vance on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/JDVance1/status/1410788038070915072","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"60deb1ffe4b0ad1785da2608","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/jd-vance-ohio-senate-seat_n_60deb1ffe4b0ad1785da2608","entryTagsList":"senate,republicans,hillbilly-elegy,jd-vance,2022-elections","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":2},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"60deb1ffe4b0ad1785da2608","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"senate ","slug":"senate","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/senate","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/senate","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/senate"},"relegenceSubjectId":982725,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"U.S. Senate","slug":"us-senate","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/us-senate"},{"name":"Republicans","slug":"republicans","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/republicans","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/republicans","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/republicans"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Republican Party","slug":"republican-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/republican-party"},{"name":"hillbilly elegy","slug":"hillbilly-elegy","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/hillbilly-elegy","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/hillbilly-elegy","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/hillbilly-elegy"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/hillbilly-elegy"},{"name":"j.d. vance","slug":"jd-vance","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jd-vance","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jd-vance","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jd-vance"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"JD Vance","slug":"jd-vance","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/jd-vance"},{"name":"2022 elections","slug":"2022-elections","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2022-elections","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/2022-elections","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/2022-elections"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"2022 Elections","slug":"2022-elections","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/2022-elections"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Wow. Just overwhelmed with gratitude. Thanks to my friends at Middletown Tube and the whole town for giving me such a welcome.

Help us out if you can. https://t.co/ZNPUHVwDXc
J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) July 2, 2021

A pack of GOPers are vying for the seat, which will be vacated when Sen. Rob Portman (R) retires next year after two terms in office. Former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, and business executives Bernie Moreno and Mike Gibbons also are running.

Others could still enter the race before the states May 2022 Republican primary. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan is the only candidate so far for his partys nomination. The fall 2022 election could determine the makeup of the Senate, now evenly divided.

Hillbilly Elegy elevated Vance to national fame, but he has garnered criticism from some Republicans for his opposition to Donald Trump s 2016 presidential campaign.

I cant stomach Trump. I think that hes noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place, Vance said during an NPR interview at the time.

He later adopted themes championed by Trump, engaging in criticism of the woke culture war and calling for restrictive immigration policies.

Its unclear who Trump plans to back in the race, but his endorsement will likely carry heavy political weight. He easily won the state in 2016 and 2020.

Vances Republican competitors have already taken aim at his anti-Trump stances. CNN noted that GOP voters in Ohio received anonymous text messages this week calling Vance a Never Trumper.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

The author has a substantial war chest. Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel has pledged $10 million for Vances campaign. Thiel was an early investor in Vances venture capital fund, The New York Times noted.