J.D. Vance, the venture capitalist and author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” has entered the Republican primary to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman.
Vance, 36, formally announced his bid to fill Portman’s (R-Ohio) vacancy at a campaign rally in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, Thursday evening, portraying himself as the right type of “fighter” to get into the political arena.
“We need a new politics for a new generation. The old way of doing things ain’t working,” the Senate hopeful said.
“What we need in Washington is not just leaders who talk about doing things, but have actually done them and continue to do them,” he added.
Speaking to Fox News Thursday after officially launching his campaign, Vance told host Tucker Carlson that he did not fit squarely into the establishment or Trumpian wings of the Republican party.
“I think so far a lot of them are frustrated, and a little upset with me because I actually say what’s true — which is many of these people don’t care about their own voters, they think they’re either bigoted or they think they’re stupid,” he said of career politicos.
“They don’t understand their job in this country is to protect their own voters to serve their best interests. So a lot of established Republicans, just like a lot of the mainstream press and corporate media, they’re against me,” he continued, “And it’s fine.”
Vance will face a crowded primary for the GOP nomination, though he enters the race with the most name recognition and a vote of confidence from billionaire Peter Thiel, who donated $10 million to a group backing the author’s potential Senate bid back in March.
Thiel is a PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor. He prominently supported former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
In addition to being an author and venture capitalist, Vance is an Iraq War veteran and Yale Law School graduate.
He formerly worked for Thiel investment firm Mithril Capital Management and for an Ohio state senator, Republican Bob Schuler.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) is the only contender.