The already crowded Republican field for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Rob Portman is expected to grow by one candidate on Thursday. Venture capitalist and “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance is expected to make what’s being billed as a special announcement in Middletown.
When Vance moved back from the Silicon Valley a few years ago, he said was happy to be in Ohio.
“This is home and I’m definitely plan to stay here,” Vance said.
The one-time critic of former President Trump has taken a softer view of him in recent months and was at Trump’s rally in Lorain last weekend.
He would join a big field of candidates for the GOP nomination including former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, former Ohio Republican Chair Jane Timken as well as Cleveland-area businessmen Bernie Moreno and Mike Gibbons.
Vance will bring a campaign war chest of more than $10 million with him, including financial backing from Paypal Co-founder Peter Thiel, a close Trump ally.
