What does 'JD' Vance stand for? Trumps V.P. pick has changed his name several times (2024)
With Ohio Sen. JD Vance recently announced as President Trump's vice-presidential running mate for the 2024 election, many are curious about the origins of his name. Vance, 39, has a unique and evolving naming history that reflects his personal journey.
Born James Donald Bowman in Middletown, Ohio, Vance’s early years were marked by significant changes. After his parents divorced, his middle name was changed from Donald, his father's name, to David. This was just the beginning of a series of name changes that Vance would undergo.
During his teenage years, Vance adopted the surname of his stepfather, becoming James Hamel. This name is reflected in his 2003 senior yearbook at Middletown High School, where he was known as such.
As an adult, Vance decided to honor his maternal grandparents by legally adopting their surname when he married his wife, Usha, in 2014, becoming James Vance. Despite these changes, Vance has always preferred to go by "JD," a choice he maintains in his official U.S. Senate biography, which spells his first name as JD.
However, Vance's popular 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy" – which was adapted into a Netflix film directed by Ron Howard in 2020 – lists him as JD Vance. This spelling was also used by Trump in the recent announcement of Vance as his running mate.
The transformation from James Donald Bowman to James David Vance is a testament to his personal history and family influences. Since the release of "Hillbilly Elegy," Vance has risen as an influential voice within the GOP. His journey to becoming a U.S. Marine veteran, venture capitalist, best-selling author, and now VP candidate, is a unique story.
Jeremy Yurow is a politics reporting fellow based in Hawaii for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach him at JYurow@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter @JeremyYurow
This spelling was also used by Trump in the recent announcement of Vance as his running mate. The transformation from James Donald Bowman to James David Vance is a testament to his personal history and family influences.
The Heritage Foundation developed Project 2025. Vance is much more aligned with national conservatives, again, anti-interventionist, in favor of family formation, in favor of limiting abortion, basically getting back to sort of 1950s American norms and immigration norms even.
Over the past few years, Vance has also taken on a new look that telegraphs his politics. But he doesn't look more like a country-club Republican — he looks more like Donald Trump. A tour of Vance's public appearances these last eight years reveals the transformation.
James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman; August 2, 1984) is an American politician, lawyer, author, and US Marine veteran who has been serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he is the party's nominee for vice president in the 2024 election. JD Vance.
To clarify, a campaign official released a photo of Vance standing next to former President Trump, who is listed as 6'3" by his White House physician. Vance is almost as tall Trump and is at least 6'2''.
Collectively, RT critics gave the movie a 25% “rotten” rating based on 259 reviews. Viewers, however, viewed Hillbilly Elegy in a different light on RT, awarding it an 82% “fresh” Audience Score based on more than 2,500 ratings.
Susan Collins is a Republican senator from Maine who has served since 1997. Collins is a self-described "moderate Republican". She has occasionally been referred to as a "liberal Republican" relative to her colleagues. In 2013, the National Journal gave Collins a score of 55% conservative and 45% liberal.
Introduction: My name is Tyson Zemlak, I am a excited, light, sparkling, super, open, fair, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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