Vance and Vivek

The general election is 29 days away and the outcome of the Presidential race is uncertain.

What is certain is that J.D.Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy have established themselves as the two brightest stars in politics over the course of the Presidential campaign.

J.D.Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy

This is particularly interesting in that a year ago almost no one knew anything about either of them.

Vance had just taken office as a Senator from Ohio (his first political race) in January, 2023.

Ramaswamy had entered the Presidential race as the longest of long shots in that he had no political background or experience at all.

Both J.D. and Vivek have demonstrated over the last year that they have two qualities that are foundational for success in any sphere of life.

People who are successful must either be extremely competent or have the ability to make connections with others.

It is almost impossible to succeed at anything unless you have one of these traits.

The rare person is someone who is both very competent and extremely adept at making connections with other people.

Vance and Vivek have both of those skills.

They are both very intelligent and understand the details of public policy.

However, they have also shown that they also have the ability to connect with the public in communicating in such a way that they can take complicated issues and simplify their messages for the masses.

What is mosts interesting to me is taking a little deeper look at both young men.

The first thing that stands out is how young both Vance and Vivek are. 

Vivek is only 39 and Vance just turned 40. 

They are also both Republicans. There is no one in the Democrat party that I can think of that is remotely in the same class as J.D. and Vivek are considering their ages.

They are both from Ohio.

In fact, Vance and Vivek grew up and went to high school within 30 miles of each other.

J.D. Vance went to Middletown H.S. in Middletown, Ohio and Vivek graduated from St. Xavier H.S. in Cincinnati, Ohio.

They both come from non-traditional family backgrounds far removed from anything like the Bush family.

Vivek is the son of two Indian immigrants who did not come to the United States until they had finished their educations in India.

Vance was raised for the most part by his grandmother as his single mother struggled with addiction and relationship issues during much of his childhood. His grandmother had come north to Ohio as a teenage bride from the hills of Kentucky as her husband looked for work in the steel mills of Ohio.

There could not be much better evidence that the American Dream is still alive than to look at the career trajectories of J.D. and Vivek.

Vance and Ramaswamy both ended up at Yale University law school where they were classmates. Both graduated in the class of 2013 along with Vance's wife, Usha.

In fact, J.D. and Usha's 4-year old son is also named Vivek.

There is no indication that the young Vivek was named for Ramaswamy but the older Vivek has stated that Usha was a family friend before she met J.D.

Both Vance and Vivek were also very successful in the private sector before entering the political arena. Whether Donald Trump wins of loses it is already assured that Vance and Vivek are big winners this year.

A Trump win puts J.D. Vance a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

However, even with a Trump defeat Vance has positioned himself to be a frontrunner for 2028 while he returns to the U.S. Senate.

Vivek will likely have the opportunity to serve in the Trump administration in some capacity if Trump wins. 

I personally would like to see Vivek in the role of Press Secretary where his excellent communication skills would be best utilized.

It is unlikely that Ramaswamy would serve more than a year or so with Trump in that recent polling in Ohio indicates that he is the favorite of GOP voters in the state for the gubernatorial office in 2026.

Source: https://ohio.news/articles/trump-keeps-lead-in-ohio-as-moreno-closes-on-brown-and-vivek-leads-governors-race-new-polls-signal-national-realignment

Of note, Vivek is preferred by large margins compared to a number of long-time Ohio Republican politicians such as Lt. Governor  Jon Husted, Attorney General Dave Yost and former Congressman and 2022 GOP gubernatorial contender Jim Renacci.

A Trump loss would allow Vivek to immediately begin raising money and begin his campaign for Governor.

Vance and Vivek.

2024 has been a very good year for both young men.

Heads they win. Tails they also win no matter what happens in November.

The future may even be brighter for these products of the Buckeye state.