JD Vance Credits His Grandmother With Raising Him

Move over Pence, Donald Trump has a new VP pick. Just two days after facing an assassination attempt, former President Trump announced his running mate for his reelection campaign, slating Ohio senator JD Vance as his potential Vice President.

Although Sen. Vance previously claimed he would never align with Trump's politics, it seems he's had a change of heart.

Before heading to the polls this November, it's best to get to know Trump's running mate. For instance, what do we know of Sen. Vance's parents?

As detailed in his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, Sen. Vance's mother struggled with drug addiction for much of his younger years. He detailed moments of extreme dysfunction at home, where small infractions like forgetting to do the dishes would trigger severe outbursts from Bev Vance. Because of this, Sen. Vance spent much of his time as an adolescent in the care of his grandparents, who he lovingly called Mamaw and Papaw

Bev's emotional state spiraled even further out of control when her father died, leading to her abuse of prescription medications. As a nurse, she had easy access to some of these medications, making it easier for her to feed her addiction, but creating a worse situation for Sen. Vance at home.

He's never been shy about discussing his mother's battle with addiction — in fact, fighting the opioid epidemic is something he's made part of his running platform for years.

Sen. Vance's biological father, Donald Bowman, left when he was only a toddler. In his memoir, he recounts how his mother told him the news of their divorce, simply stating that he wouldn't see his biological father again. From there, many of the father figures in his life were various partners Bev had until she eventually remarried to Bob Hamel, her third husband.

Bob adopted Sen. Vance, and his name was changed to James David Hamel. Unfortunately, Bob and Bev later divorced.

Though he often dealt with the chaos of his home with his mother and sister, he's been open that his grandparents contributed the most to his upbringing. And despite running on the Republican ballot, his grandparents were actually union Democrats, per Politico. But despite their differences, Sen. Vance continues to vocalize his appreciation for his grandparents.

"You’re not always going to agree with every vote that I take, and you’re not going to agree with every single amendment that I offer in the United States Senate, but I will never forget the woman who raised me,” he said in his victory speech when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, thanking Mamaw for raising him.

Despite his challenging upbringing, Vance likely picked up valuable lessons on relationships and parenting from his grandparents. He is married to Usha Vance, and together they have three children: Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel. Vance and Usha met while attending Yale Law School.