Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance released his first campaign ad on Wednesday starring his “favorite person,” his wife, Usha.
“I love our first ad, where my favorite person tells my story,” Vance announced. “We fight for Ohio because it’s our home, and when I was a kid, Ohio gave me a chance.”
In the 30-second ad, Usha gives a brief summation of Vance’s life, as popularized in his book Hillbilly Elegy and the Ron Howard-directed movie starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams.
“Our family story is an Ohio story,” Usha begins.
Usha recalled J.D.’s rough beginnings in Middletown, Ohio, as he dealt with a mother struggling with addiction and an absent father.
“My husband, J.D., grew up in Middletown and things weren’t easy,” continued Usha. “His mom struggled with addiction, and his dad was not there. But J.D. was lucky. He was raised by his loving grandmother and he served his country as a marine in Iraq.”
The ad concluded by hailing Vance as “an incredible father” and a wonderful husband who wants to give to Ohio what the state gave him: “A fighting chance.”
“He is an incredible father and he’s my best friend,” she concluded. “J.D shared his family story in Hillbilly Elegy and he wants for Ohio what Ohio gave him: a fighting chance.”
I love our first ad, where my favorite person tells my story. We fight for Ohio because it’s our home, and when I was a kid, Ohio gave me a chance. pic.twitter.com/4RfeAOfrIm
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) August 3, 2022
J.D. Vance coasted to become the Republican nominee in the Ohio senate race after former President Donald Trump endorsed his candidacy, hailing him as “our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race.”
“The Democrats will be spending many millions of dollars, but the good news is that they have a defective candidate who ran for President and garnered exactly zero percent in the polls. The bottom line is, we must have a Republican victory in Ohio,” Trump said.
“This is not an easy endorsement for me to make because I like and respect some of the other candidates in the race — they’ve said great things about ‘Trump’ and, like me, they love Ohio and love our Country,” he continued. “I’ve studied this race closely and I think J.D. is the most likely to take out the weak, but dangerous, Democrat opponent — dangerous because they will have so much money to spend.”