 39-year-old Senator Vance first gained fame for his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy. He then worked for billionaire Peter Thiel before winning the Ohio Senate seat in 2022, beating Democratic nominee Tim Ryan. Vance was initially a Trump critic, calling him in a 2016 op-ed, quote, unfit for our nation's highest office. But Vance since mended fences with Trump and received the former president's endorsement in his 2022 campaign.