Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance enters Ohio Senate race

Vance announced at Middletown Tube Works, in front of an
Ohio state flag. (Cincinnati Enquirer photo by Jim Didion)

Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance made his expected entry into Ohio's U.S. Senate rate Thursday.

Vance, now a venture capitalist, "joins a slew of other Republicans clamoring for the chance to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman, including former Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken, former state treasurer Josh Mandel, car dealer Bernie Moreno and investment banker Mike Gibbons," The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Running so far on the Democratic side is U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan."

Vance, 36, "is a difficult candidate to pin down," Haley BeMiller and Jessie Balmert write. "He can often be seen on Fox News or voicing conservative talking points on Twitter [but] is best known for his memoir depicting his family's struggles in Appalachian Kentucky and his mother's addiction during his childhood in Middletown," where he made his announcement at a plant where family members worked.

"Natives of Appalachia have criticized Vance's take as inaccurate and exploitative," the Dispatch notes. "Supporters who gathered Thursday to cheer on Vance's announcement said they appreciated his perspective on economic issues and wanted to support a candidate with local ties." 

Venture capitalist and Vance mentor Peter Thiel has put $10 million into a super PAC to support Vance's campaign, but former president Donald Trump looms over the race, and "Vance has a complicated history with Trump," the Dispatch notes. "He was publicly critical of Trump during the 2016 election cycle — calling him noxious in an interview with NPR — and ultimately voted for independent Evan McMullin." In October 2016, he said, "Trump makes people I care about afraid: immigrants, Muslims, et cetera. Because of this I find him reprehensible." But this year, "Vance courted Trump at Mar-a-Lago and attended his rally in Lorain County in the hope of securing his support."