'Hillbilly Elegy' author JD Vance signals US Senate campaign

The venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” appears poised to join the crowded Republican race for the Ohio U.S. Senate seat being left by Rob Portman

The venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” appears poised to join the crowded Republican race for the Ohio U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Rob Portman. JD Vance, whose book was widely seen in 2016 as helping explain Republican Donald Trump's appeal to struggling white, working-class voters, plans a “special announcement” and rally at the steel fabricator Middletown Tube Works in his Ohio hometown on Thursday. If he enters the race, Vance would face former state GOP chair Jane Timken, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, and two Cleveland businesspeople, Mike Gibbons and Bernie Moreno, in next year's GOP primary. Portman, a Republican, decided earlier this year not to seek a third term, citing dismay at partisan gridlock. While Vance, 38, hasn't run for elective office before, a political action committee formed this year to encourage his candidacy got an eyebrow-raising $10 million contribution from PayPal founder Peter Thiel. Vance had worked for the billionaire venture capitalist and entrepreneur in California.