By the SEMA Washington, D.C., office
Former President Donald Trump selected U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) on Monday, July 15, as his nominee for vice president, capping a lengthy audition process that will see Vance, 39, join Trump on the campaign trail immediately, particularly in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Here's what SEMA and PRI members need to know about Sen. Vance as it relates to our industry:
- Vance is an EV skeptic. In the Senate, Vance has actively sought to protect the nation's market for gas-powered motor vehicles, arguing that Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles (EVs) represent a risk to the American workforce, seeking to repeal the $7,500 clean-vehicle tax credit. Sen. Vance introduced the "Drive American Act" (S. 2962), a bill that would provide tax incentives for U.S.-made vehicles that run solely on gas or diesel. He's regularly sparred with the Biden administration on environmental and energy policy and is expected to align closely with Trump's positions on ethanol and biofuels.
- He's a political newcomer. Vance first ran for elected office in 2022, winning a seat to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate after gaining Trump's endorsement. Sen. Vance has developed a reputation for occasional bipartisanship, particularly on manufacturing and transportation issues.
- Blue-collar roots. Sen. Vance rose to prominence as the author of the New York Times bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis," the true story of his upbringing in poor, working-class America. His background surrounded by divorce and substance abuse in Rust Belt Ohio gives him first-hand perspective into the people of that area and the challenges they face and informs his self-described populist views on jobs, manufacturing and the economy. Sen. Vance served in the Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007 and is an Iraq war veteran. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Yale Law School.