James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman; August 2, 1984) is an American conservative commentator, politician, venture capitalist, and author.[2] He is best known for his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which attracted significant press attention during the 2016 election.[3] Vance is the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio, having announced his candidacy to succeed retiring U.S. Senator Rob Portman[4] on July 1, 2021. On May 3, 2022, he won the Republican primary and will face off against Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the November general election.