Vice Presidential Candidate Vance from the 'Rust Belt'
Appeals to Working-Class Voters in 'Tight' Battleground States
Shot Trump Expected to Solidify Momentum at the Convention
Former President Donald Trump has been officially nominated as the Republican candidate for the upcoming November presidential election. His running mate for vice president is hardline conservative J.D. Vance, a U.S. Senator from Ohio. Vance, 39 years old this year, hails from the Rust Belt and is a self-made figure who overcame a difficult family background. With this vice presidential nomination, he has rapidly emerged as Trump’s successor.
On the 15th (local time), former President Trump was officially confirmed as the presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
This marks the third time Trump has been the Republican presidential candidate, following 2016 and 2020. On the final day of the convention, the 18th, Trump will deliver his acceptance speech. Following the shooting incident on the 13th, he is expected to emphasize a message of "unity" and present the policy vision for his second administration.
Senator Vance was chosen as the Republican vice presidential candidate. On the same day, Trump announced via his social media platform Truth Social, which he created, "After long consideration, reflection, and taking into account the great talents of many others, I have decided that the great Senator from Ohio, J.D. Vance, is the right person to be the Vice President of the United States."
Born in Ohio in 1984, Vance is the youngest vice presidential candidate since 1952. He is known for his success story of rising from a disadvantaged family background in the Rust Belt to become a lawyer, venture capitalist, and eventually a U.S. Senator. He gained nationwide fame with his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," which recounts his impoverished upbringing in the Appalachian region of the southern United States in 2016. Once "anti-Trump," he now aligns politically with Trump on issues such as banning illegal immigration, downplaying the climate crisis, and seeking an early end to the Russia-Ukraine war, making him a key "pro-Trump" figure in Congress.
Trump’s choice of Vance as his vice presidential candidate reflects the judgment that Vance shares his views and has competitiveness among working-class voters in battleground states overlapping with the Rust Belt. Trump wrote on social media that "Senator Vance, who has had a very successful career in technology and finance, will focus on Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and beyond, targeting American workers and farmers." The fact that Vance is 39 years younger than Trump, who is 78 years old this year, is also seen as a positive factor.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) evaluated that "Trump has chosen a much younger partner who can appeal to working-class voters in key Midwestern battleground states."
Bloomberg News described it as "a signal of potential generational change within the Republican Party," adding that "it will bring a new voice to the GOP’s efforts to appeal to the working class, which was once the Democratic Party’s base."
Senator Vance is scheduled to deliver his vice presidential acceptance speech on the 17th.
Meanwhile, former President Trump is expected to appear at the convention site just two days after the shooting incident during his Pennsylvania campaign on the 13th, demonstrating his resilience. Through this convention, which serves as the launchpad for his presidential campaign, he plans to solidify the "Trump momentum."
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