‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author JD Vance signals US Senate campaign

The venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” appears poised to join the crowded Republican race for the Ohio U.S. Senate seat being left by Rob Portman. JD Vance plans a “special announcement” and rally at the steel fabricator Middletown Tube Works in his Ohio hometown Thursday. His book was widely seen in 2016 as helping explain Republican Donald Trump’s appeal to struggling white, working-class voters. Vance would face former state GOP chair Jane Timken, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel and two Cleveland businesspeople, Mike Gibbons and Bernie Moreno, in next year’s primary. The Republican Portman decided in January not to seek a third term.