JD Vance, Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, was born James Donald Bowman in 1984 in Middletown, Ohio. When Vance was a young child, his parents divorced and his mother later changed his middle name to David. Vance eventually took his mother’s maiden name, Vance, as his surname.
The “JD” in JD Vance stands for “James Donald”, which was Vance’s original name at birth. Vance has said that he took on his mother’s maiden name to distance himself from his troubled upbringing, which he detailed in his bestselling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy”.
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In the book, Vance described growing up in poverty, with a mother who struggled with drug and alcohol abuse.He was primarily raised by his maternal grandparents, who had moved to the industrial city of Middletown from the Appalachian region of Kentucky. Vance has credited his grandparents for providing him the stability and support he needed to eventually attend Ohio State University and Yale Law School.
Vance’s personal story and insights into the challenges facing working-class white Americans in the Rust Belt resonated during the 2016 election cycle, when Donald Trump’s populist message found success. This helped propel Vance into the national spotlight, leading to his eventual election to the U.S. Senate in 2022 and now his selection as Trump’s running mate.