UP Gazette

Jerry Boucher, an Escanaba resident and member of the St. Anne parish, said JD Vance's focus on stable families and a stable nation makes him "great for this nation."

“I think he’s excellent. He’s Catholic, and he converted,” Boucher said. "I know he’s for family; he’s got it together and wants stable families and a stable nation, and I think he’ll be great for this nation. I think it increases, especially for those on the fence.”

Ohio Senator J.D. Vance was named as Former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump’s running mate and Vice President at the beginning of the Republican National Convention.

If Trump and Vance win the 2024 election, Vance will become the first Catholic vice president of the Republican party.

“It’s good to be home and I do think the Catholic Church is my home,” said Vance in an interview with Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote.

Vance, 39, was first elected to serve Ohio in the U.S. Senate in the Nov. 2022 General Election. He defeated U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), winning 53% to Ryan’s 47%.

Vance served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007, graduated from Ohio State University, and received a J.D. from Yale University Law School.

He also is the author of the 2016 book, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” which reached The New York Times Bestseller list in 2016 and 2017.

A Middletown, Ohio native, Vance lives with his wife and three children.