Ohio is known as the “Mother of Presidents,” sending eight native-born sons to the White House. But when it comes to Vice Presidents, the Buckeye State was barren until the 2024 election of JD Vance. Vance is the first person in the state’s history, who was both born in Ohio and elected from Ohio, to serve as Vice President of the United States.
The 21st Vice President was Thomas Hendricks. Born in Fultonham, Ohio in 1819, he moved with his parents to Indiana at the age of two. He would go on to represent Indiana in the House and the Senate and as governor of his adopted state, before being elected Vice President under Grover Cleveland. Sworn in on March 4 — Cleveland’s first term — Hendricks passed away in November of the same year.
The 26th Vice President was another native of Ohio. Charles Fairbanks was born in Unionville, Ohio, in 1852, He moved to Indianapolis after graduating from Ohio Wesleyan College. Like Hendricks, he served in the United States Senate. He was the running mate of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, when TR ran for president in his own right, after assuming the office in 1901 upon the death of Ohioan William McKinley.
The 30th Vice President was Charles Dawes. Born in Marietta, Ohio in 1865, he attended Marietta College and the University of Cincinnati Law School before beginning a long career in government, including Ambassador to Great Britain and Comptroller of the United States. Dawes was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in 1925 for his creation of the Dawes Plan for World War I Reparations.
John W. Bricker was the last major party candidate to run for Vice President from Ohio. Bricker, Ohio’s former senator, governor and attorney general, was the running mate of New York Governor Thomas Dewey in 1944. Dewey lost to President Franklin Roosevelt, who was seeking an unprecedented 4th term.
Bricker, who died in 1986, was the subject of news coverage in 2021, when the Ohio State University removed his name from a campus building. In the 1930s, Bricker, a member of the OSU Board of Trustees, was instrumental in preventing Black students from residing in university housing.
Vance was born James Donald Bowman. His name was later changed to James David Bowman and because of an adoption by a stepfather, he was known as James Hamel — the name he used while in the military. Since graduating from law school, he has gone by JD Vance, adopting the last name of his beloved grandmother.
While the 78-year-old Donald Trump will be one of the oldest persons to serve as President, at age 40, Vance will be one of the youngest persons to serve in that office.
The youngest Vice President was John C. Breckenridge, who was 36 years old when elected. He served under James Buchanan, who was elected in 1857. When it comes to rankings by presidential historians, Buchanan has consistently been at the bottom of the list — that is, until Donald Trump. So maybe there is some nexus between choosing a young Vice President and presidential rankings.
When Vance’s credentials are compared to other native sons of Ohio who have served as Vice President, or other Vice Presidents in general, they come up thin. But who’s to argue with a man whose only political experience has been two lackluster years in the U.S. Senate.
Vance is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Yale Law School. Although he claims that he engaged in the practice of law, the Ohio Supreme Court Registry of Lawyers has no reference to him. He is not listed as a lawyer with the California Supreme Court, where he resided until 2016.
A U.S. Marine Corp veteran of the Iraq War and a self-proclaimed venture capitalist in the State of California, Vance made his name as author of his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Eulogy. A modern-day Horatio Alger story, it tells the story of his life in Middletown, Ohio, and Kentucky, where he spent part of his childhood. But much of the story focuses on the struggles of his mother to overcome drug addiction. Critics have raised questions about several facts in the story.
In 2022, Vance bested a field of well-known Republicans in the party primary, beating out State Senator Matt Dolan, former Treasurer of State Josh Mandel and former State Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, all of whom had well financed campaigns. But the endorsement of Donald Trump carried Vance to a primary victory. He would go on to defeat Youngstown Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan with 53% of the vote.
The irony of Vance’s meteoric rise is that in 2016 Vance was a “never Trumper,” saying that Trump could be an “American Hitler.” He is quoted as saying that he considered voting for Hillary Clinton. His past anti-Trump position flies in the face of his current “bromance” with Trump. There must have been a lot of ring kissing or kissing of other parts of Trump’s anatomy to move Vance from foe to friend. It should also make voters question the mindset of someone that could take such a drastic change in position.
Eight Presidents have died in office. With the 78-year- old Trump, whose lifestyle is anything but healthy, the odds of Vance becoming President are on his side.
Assuming Trump survives his current term, the next four years will give Vance a chance to prove himself to the legions of Trump supporters. The question will be whether Trump’s appeal can transfer to Vance. Traditionally, the outgoing vice president must wear the jacket of president he served, particularly an outgoing president who is low in the polls. Ask Humbert Humphrey and Kamala Harris. In recent history, only George H.W. Bush has gone directly from Vice President to President by way of election.
With Donald Trump Jr. and a host of Republican hopefuls waiting in the wings, Vance must walk a cautious path. A misstep or even just following the law in Trump world is tantamount to political suicide — just ask Mike Pence.
Vice President John Nance Garner famously quipped that the office of Vice President “wasn’t worth a warm bucket of spit.” After being dumped by FDR at the end of this second term, Garner bemoaned the fact that he gave up his powerful position as Speaker of the House to become Vice President, only to return to Texas and grow pecans after eight years in office.
Until that fateful day in Dallas in 1963, Lyndon Johnson had serious second thoughts about his decision to become Vice President. He gave up the powerful position as Senate Majority Leader for a job that left him sometimes twiddling his thumbs. At age 40 and a first-term senator, with four years left in his term, Vance had the opportunity to stay in the Senate and create his own brand. With the dearth of Democratic candidates in Ohio, his seat was likely safe for as long as he wanted to keep it. But he took the gamble and ran.
Clearly, he has won round one. But can he win round two? Can he survive four years as Trump’s and Elon Musk’s number two?
Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls will be waiting and watching for any and every chance to knock the skids out of Vance’s meteoric rise from Middletown, Ohio to Washington. They want Vance to join the ranks of former Vice President Dan Quayle — a defeated one term Vice President who has become a footnote in history.
Vance must stay in the good graces of Trump, Trump’s inner circle, the media and the electorate. Will historians look back and opine that Vance hitched his star to the wrong wagon? Timing is everything in politics and at age 40 time is on Vance’s side.
The next four years will determine Vance’s political future. Will Ohio have another native son in the White House or will Vance go down in history as the only Vice President from Ohio? Will Vance’s four years as Vice President be a steppingstone or a millstone? Historians will answer the question someday.
C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she is a former member of the Board of the Ohio History Connection, and past president of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table, and is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.