# J.D Vance **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 22, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582 "2017-10-22T20:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/21 "2017-10-23T12:18:38Z")
At least once he said specifically he wouldn’t run for office: > **['Hillbilly Elegy' Writer Won't Seek Office](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/hillbilly-elegy-writer-wont-seek-office/539949/)** > > J.D. Vance, whose memoir of rural white resentment helped explain Trump’s rise, seriously considered a bid for U.S. Senate in his home state of Ohio. I can’t find anything claiming higher sales for his book than “over a million copies,” not enough to make him that fsmous: > **['Hillbilly Elegy' is No. 1; new Oprah pick is a best seller](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/07/05/hillbilly-elegy-jd-vance-behold-the-dreamers-oprah-winfrey-usa-today-best-selling-books/103398062/)** > > J.D. Vance's memoir finally tops USA TODAY's best-seller list. If the movie being made from his book actually gets made (and lots of announced movies don’t get made), that might raise his fame to the point that a substantial portion of the American public would know about him, but it would take at least two years to make the film, I estimate: > **[Hillbilly Elegy (2020) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6772802/)** > > Hillbilly Elegy: Directed by Ron Howard. With Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso, Haley Bennett. An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/22 "2017-10-23T13:30:53Z")
> [@CHealy7](#): > > I’m not in the States so may be out of touch, but I was under the impression that Vance’s work had touched something in the American psyche. No more, and arguably less, than John Stewart. Doesn’t mean we’ll be addressing either one as Mr. President in their lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/23 "2017-10-23T13:42:33Z")
> [@CHealy7](#): > > I’m not in the States so may be out of touch, but I was under the impression that Vance’s work had touched something in the American psyche. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that what some in the chattering classes are writing and talking about reflects what America is thinking about, but that would be a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/24 "2017-10-23T14:16:29Z")
I like the idea that someone would become a successful Republican politician by writing a serious memoir about poverty. Maybe in some fantasy version of the Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/25 "2017-10-23T15:08:23Z")
Never heard of him. Any relation to B. D. Cooper? They have the same middle initial. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/26 "2017-10-23T15:32:02Z")
Have you heard of _Hillbilly Elegy_ though? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/27 "2017-10-23T15:34:40Z")
I think Stephen King has better book sales, so I’d bet on him before Vance as a presidential candidate. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/28 "2017-10-23T15:34:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Never heard of him. Any relation to B. D. Cooper? They have the same middle initial. D.B. Cooper was the airplane hijacker and famous missing person. B.D. Cooper is the somewhat less well known Iowa stamp collector. > **[D. B. Cooper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper)** > > D. B. Cooper was an unidentified man who hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, a Boeing 727 aircraft, in United States airspace on November 24, 1971. During the flight from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington, the hijacker told a flight attendant he had a bomb, demanded $200,000 in ransom (equivalent to approximately $1,500,000 in 2024), and requested four parachutes upon landing in Seattle. After releasing the passengers in Seattle, the hijacker instructed the flight crew to The... ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/29 "2017-10-23T15:47:58Z")
I’ll vote for anyone who gets me cash for my structured settlement. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/30 "2017-10-23T16:05:48Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’ve never heard of Vance or his book before. I’d give Al Franken a higher chance of becoming President. I’d be willing to argue that right now Franken is in top five contenders for the nomination. It’s way early, but he’s getting some right kind of press and saying crowd pleasing things. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/31 "2017-10-23T16:29:50Z")
I have no idea who he is, and I see on his Wikipedia page that he worked for the venture capital firm owned by noted asshole Peter Thiel. No, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![CHealy7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@CHealy7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CHealy7)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/32 "2017-10-23T20:03:19Z")
So, who are the top politicos eyeing a presidential run? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/33 "2017-10-23T20:12:53Z")
> [@CHealy7](#): > > So, who are the top politicos eyeing a presidential run? It’s really too early to say. Candidates typically start making noise about running roughly two years before the election. But some of the names being tossed around include Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Senator Chris Murphy, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kamela Harris, Senator Corey Booker, and a bunch of others. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/34 "2017-10-23T20:23:51Z")
On which side? For the Republicans, the strongest contender is probably Ryan, though Pence could also have a decent claim, and Kasich is probably going to give it another try (and I wouldn’t rule out him trying to primary Trump). For the Democrats, I can think of a number of names who would have a good shot if they ran, but the question is whether they’re interested (and others who would have a good shot but have specifically said that they’re not). But yes, Franken would be on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/35 "2017-10-23T20:30:01Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I like the idea that someone would become a successful Republican politician by writing a serious memoir about poverty. Maybe in some fantasy version of the Republican party. Actually, from a [**Guardian**](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/07/hillbilly-elegy-by-jd-vance-review) review of sorts, he does blame the poor for being poor. People like that sort of thing. > [@Ravenman](#): > > It’s really too early to say. Candidates typically start making noise about running roughly two years before the election. > > But some of the names being tossed around include Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Senator Chris Murphy, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kamela Harris, Senator Corey Booker, and a bunch of others. Youth at the Helm ! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/36 "2017-10-23T20:51:05Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > It’s really too early to say. Candidates typically start making noise about running roughly two years before the election. For some reference – three years before winning their first Presidential elections: Bill Clinton, in 1989, was in his third term as governor of Arkansas. There’d been some speculation about him running for president in '88 (when Cuomo declined to run, and Gary Hart dropped out), but he’d never entered the race. His biggest national exposure at that point had been being a keynote speaker at the 1988 Democratic Convention, and going way over his allotted time. George W. Bush, in 1997, was partway through his first term as governor of Texas, part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, and the son of (and shared a name with) a former president. Nationally, he was probably better known for the second and third items from the above list at that time than he was for the first. Barack Obama, in 2005, was a year into his term as a U.S. Senator (an election in which his victory was, in part, due to the Republican nominee having to withdraw due to [a sex scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_%28politician%29#Campaign_demise) involving his actress wife). He had given a keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention, and was seen as a rising star in the party, but was also very new to the national stage. In short: at that juncture, 3 years before the elections, few people would have seen Clinton, GWB, or Obama as their parties’ favorite or lead candidate, though all three had a certain level of national awareness (particularly GWB, due to his name, and governorship of a large state). Based on their roles in the previous conventions, Clinton and Obama were clearly being groomed for bigger roles, but when the races actually started, neither of them were seen as the top challengers. So, my guess is that the Democratic nominee for 2020 will be someone that you’ve probably heard of today, but may not know much at all about. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/37 "2017-10-24T01:22:00Z")
Does it matter to the OP that J. D. Vance is only 33? ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/38 "2017-10-24T01:43:14Z")
Understanding why poverty persists is not a strong suit of the Democratic Party. Perhaps he could run with Thomas Sowell. ---
**Author:** ![CHealy7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@CHealy7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CHealy7)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/39 "2017-10-24T09:19:49Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Does it matter to the OP that J. D. Vance is only 33? I wasn’t expecting him to become president immediately;) ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582/40 "2017-10-24T09:42:02Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Understanding why poverty persists is not a strong suit of the Democratic Party. Perhaps he could run with Thomas Sowell. Something to do with Welfare ? Weren’t no poverty until statists started relieving poverty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-d-vance/799582.md?page=3)