How old is JD Vance? He's the first millennial vice presidential candidate.
President Joe Biden, 81, endorsed 59-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris after deciding not to seek re-election. Donald Trump, 78, chose J.D. Vance as his running mate. The 2024 presidential race just got a whole lot younger.
Age has been a hot-button topic this election cycle – many voters reported feeling “very concerned” about the health and fitness of both Biden and Trump. The Trump campaign has repeatedly targeted the sitting president’s age and mental capabilities, even though Biden is only three years older than Trump.
With age on voters' minds, here's what to know about Trump's running mate, the Republican Senator from Ohio.
How old is JD Vance?
Sen. J.D. Vance is 39 years old, born Aug. 2, 1984.
Vance grew up in Jackson, Kentucky and Middletown, Ohio. He chronicled his childhood, plagued by abuse, alcoholism and poverty, in his 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” Vance joined the Marines Corps after high school before attending Ohio State University and Yale Law School, where he met his wife Usha. He also made a name for himself in the tech world as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
Vance was elected to the Senate in 2022 after defeating Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan for the open seat left by retiring Sen. Rob Portman.
Vance is the first millennial vice presidential candidate and is 20 years younger than Harris, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee.
If he and Trump get elected, he will become the third-youngest vice president in history at age 40. John C. Breckenridge is the youngest vice president in U.S. history, only 36 years old when he was inaugurated alongside President James Buchanan in 1857. Richard Nixon had just turned 40 when he was sworn in as vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower.
What is 'Hillbilly Elegy' about?: All about JD Vance's 2016 book
How old is Usha Vance?
Usha Chilukuri Vance is 38 years old. She and Vance were married in 2014 – a year after they graduated from Yale Law School. They have three young children: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.
Usha Vance has an undergraduate degree in history from Yale University and a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Cambridge, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has worked as a law clerk for both the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The New York Times reported her as a litigator for the national firm Munger, Tolles and Olson LLP, but she was not listed as one of their attorneys after Trump announced her husband as his running mate, USA TODAY previously reported.
How old is Donald Trump?
Trump is 78 years old. He was born on June 14, 1946, the first year of the baby boomer generation. He was 70 when he was inaugurated in 2017. At the time, he was the oldest president ever elected. Biden broke that record upon his 2021 inauguration at age 78.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How old is JD Vance, Trump's vice presidential pick?