MILWAUKEE (BP) — Former President Donald Trump received the required number of delegates to be nominated as the presidential candidate for the Republican Party. The party’s convention kicked off Monday (July 15).
Moments before receiving the nomination, Trump announced via social media that he had selected J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) to be his choice as vice president.
“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio. J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association,” Trump said.
Trump’s nomination comes less than 48 hours after he was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania July 13. One rally attendee was killed by the gunman. Two other attendees were wounded. The gunman was killed by law enforcement moments after he shot at the former president.
Before being elected to the Senate, Vance was best known for his book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which tells his story of growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky before his family moved to Middletown, Ohio, to escape poverty as his mother battled addiction.
His Twitter bio lists him as a “Christian, husband, dad. U.S. Senator for Ohio.” Vance, 39, has been married to Usha Chilukuri Vance for 10 years; they have three children.
The Yale graduate was elected to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate in 2022.
“So much about the selection of a vice presidential running mate centers on whether that individual shares the same commitments and convictions as the nominee, can effectively defend those positions and has the endurance to campaign across the nation, state by state, city by city,” said Brent Leatherwood, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president.
“By all those measures, President Trump’s selection of Senator Vance hits those marks and is one that will round out this year’s Republican ticket. It certainly does so in a way that absolutely presents the strong contrast the GOP is seeking with the Democratic ticket.”
In a statement, National Right to Life embraced Trump’s selection of Vance.
“National Right to Life believes Senator Vance is an excellent choice for vice president,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “He is committed to promoting the right to life and protecting both women and their preborn children.”
Vance, however, has indicated his support for the new GOP platform, which contains far weaker pro-life language than previous Republican platforms.
(EDITOR’s NOTE — Brandon Porter serves as associate vice president for convention news at the SBC Executive Committee.)
